Yeah, but we don't really have that here. All our platforms are of uniform height of 840mm, and our trains do not have or need variable equipment for it, so there's no way they did something like it on the SNG. You can see it in this image for example, which shows the side of the SNG well enough. Tomorrow, actually Roadmap articles are usually 1st tuesday of the month in the afternoon UTC. Though they might push the stream at least to thursday I suspect because of the announcement for the Mildmay Line (3rd party dev though) to be released tomorrow. So either they might do both the release stream with the roadmap stream afterwards, or they do the roadmap stream thursday. Yeah, you mentioned it before. I'm not gonna put too much weight on that and see what happens on the roadmap and during preview streams when they're ready for those. Given the order of things on the roadmap, and Matt's comments, and the state of what we saw for Cardiff City Network, now that the Metrolink F59PHR is out and they've basically cleared every single other project announced before the announcement of this route, other than Cardiff City Network, I'm expecting (personal guess though) Cardiff City streams and release date announced in the next 2 weeks followed by Spoorlijn Zwolle - Groningen streams and release date announcements soon after that.
Nope, it's today, they made an exception for this roadmap to not interfere with the NLL Mildmay line releasing tomorrow on 4 march. Source: DTG Member on Discord and this thread: https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/week-beginning-march-3rd.89667/
Ah, I see. That's good to know, and I hadn't seen that article, so thanks for the headsup Good, cause I was looking forward to an update anyways
OMSI is a bus simulator for PC. Similar to TSW in concept, but with busses. https://store.steampowered.com/app/252530/OMSI_2_Steam_Edition/
Ah yes, I see. It makes sense though. But yeah, to reiterate the same point. An overhaul for any type of people related interactions, whether it's dispatch/signaller, guard/conductor, shunting staff or passengers, is highly needed for a more immersive experience to the game. In theory, but I don't think it's likely. They may announce that it'll be "very soon", but actual release dates are usually announced seperately, even if it happens to be at around the same date as the roadmap.
Screenshot compilation again: Technically I'd consider the opening springtime spring one to be a screenshot too since it has the SNG. Looks absolutely amazing. Unfortunately no real shots of the SNG yet, except for the teaser in the sprint. Really happy with this
Now, onto some of the initial thoughts and notices. The station is clearly Zwolle, and it looks pretty good However, it does make me question a little bit what year they're going for exactly here, as the yellow footbridge is a fairly recent and still in progress project. So, only early 2024 as it just wasn't there before. This also makes me wonder if the Hoogeveen curve is going to be the old or new version after the recent rework. As for the other pics. The cabview at night, I think it's the topside of the DUO building at Groningen again, which would mean this pic was taken right outside of Groningen station. As for the ones near water. The one with the 2 white towers is most definitely the Euroborg stadium (FC Groningen) at Groningen Europapark station. (you can even almost exactly recreate this image from google streetview on water actually during a frozen winter of 2021 ) The later pic with water and trees though, is very difficult. It's clearly 4 tracked, which means it's either at the approach for Zwolle or Groningen. They seem to show Groningen a lot more, but I can't really find any appropriate point. I actually suspect it's the Bergingsvijver at the point at Zwolle where the lines for Groningen/Leeuwarden meet the ones from Emmen. Though if that were the case, where's the transmission towers? Also, absolutely amazing news for everyone who wanted freight on this route! The Vectron DB is gonna get the upgrade to support Dutch signalling and everything! Of course I don't know if that means they're gonna actually layer them in. Or just to allow for us to use it for free roam freight and IC moves. But either way. That's really good news! Edit: P.S. Also, minor thing some people noticed on the original blurry tease of the NS SNG last month. In the Springtime Sprint pic. You can see the white line on 1st class is now a lot thinner and better
Not my sort of thing but as always I admire the craftsmanship etc to produce something like this. Additionally I have used these trains in Amsterdam as my aunty lives there
Good catch on the SNG. Had not caught it yet, though I did look for it. I don't count the second one though as that's just fanart. 2023 would probably be best, but that does get dodgy in the timing for the footbridge. I mean, yeah. A pretty good NS flow livery already exists on the livery share, though that ones takes the Railpool variant as a base, so I don't know for sure if they will also add Dutch capabilities to that one in full as well. I just hope this also comes with a few minor Zwolle - Onnen freight runs layered in as that would suggest they also included the south-western emplacement at Zwolle that I was yapping about some time earlier in this thread, as that's the most fitting start point for it Unless they'd put it on the Zwolle's most outer track on the left side of the pic of Zwolle. But that track can only route to the right hand track of this route, and so can only support outbound freight trains from Zwolle.
Little funny inaccuracy and detail actually. In the specific screenshot below, those are the Stoker and Brander towers at the Euroborg Stadium, as I mentioned earlier. Thing is though, they put the towers wrong way around. The side you see in the screenshot is the side that's facing towards the stadium itself, and the outside are more standard appartment balcony rows. I get it though, as the inward facing blocky structure looks more iconic And it's still the same tower. So I guess I can forgive it.
The Vectron isn't really included, to be fair, and to not set any false expectations. It's just that the Vectron DB from Frankfurt - Fulda gets upgraded to be able to use proper Dutch systems as well. Hopefully it'll have some actual layers too. And hopefully they'd also eventually upgrade the Railpool Vectron as well. Either way though, in order to get to use the Vectron on this route, you do still have to get Frankfurt - Fulda: Kinzigtalbahn.
Coming at the end of March! We'll probably get more info in 2 weeks, around the time when Cardiff City Network is released.
I would expect a few layered in services. Most likely freight runs from Zwolle to Onnen. And of course some AI stuff around Zwolle in other directions.
Im soooo excited to finally have a route from my country i cannot wait to drive the ICMm, also really hoping this is a sign for more Dutch routes to come
Before he had to stop, Cabview Holland did a series of videos from a head cam. A number of these were in the ICMm. Watching them really gives a feel of how to drive this emu.
In related news, NS has shown a mock-up of the new double decker units that will (eventually) replace part of the Koploper (ICMm3 and ICMm4 to be precise) fleet and the current DDZ fleet. The class name of the new trains is "DDNG" ("Dubbel Dekker Nieuwe Generatie", or "Double Decker New Generation"), the class or series number wasn't announced. The order consists of 60 units, of which 30 trains are four car units and the other 30 are six car units, and will be built by CAF. Each unit has single deck powered cars with platform level entry at both ends, with either two or four unpowered double deck coaches sandwiched in between that offer no platform level entry. There's a slight family resemblance with the SNG units, but the design is mostly unique. The plan is to start rollout of the units in 2029, but knowing NS this will most likely be in the early 2030s instead. With the introduction of DDNG, the entire fleet of DDZ ("Double Decker Zoned", Class 7500/7600) will be retired, as well as last batch of the Koploper units which by then will still be in service (ICMm3 and ICMm4, units 4201 - 4250). The series mentioned were built between 1990 and 1994 and are at the end of their economic lifespan, already having received a large refurbishment. The oldest train series still in service after these units are retired, will be the VIRMm, of which the oldest units were delivered in 1994 as class 8200 (three car units) and 8400 (four car units) and have since been extended and refurbished into VIRMm-1 in 2016. They will reach the end of their economic lifespan somewhere in the 2030s, but no replacement program has been announced as of yet.
ICMm will be missed by most passengers, as they're really comfortable and fast, but DDZ has been a problem child since the refurbishment. Constant breakdowns, and the really scary problem with breaking couplers at speed in the past. The motors do sound nice though. VIRMm has iconic looks, but try spending 3 hours in one. Not only will your back and knees hurt from the way your body is contorted (especially on the window seats on the lower floors, where you're forced to put your legs to one side instead of straight ahead), but the constant squeaking of the couplers will haunt you in your sleep. And when the track is slippery (which is about 9 months a year in the Netherlands) VIRMm units struggle to find traction. This is because they're grossly underpowered. Thankfully the fourth annoyance (traction equipment that sounded like a drunk trying to play the bagpipes) has been fixed some years back. The squeaking of the couplers has been faithfully reproduced in the Train Sim Classic version of the trains by the way.
Yeah, they're some of our most unique trains, and absolutely amazing. In that sense I hate the standardisation of train design. Even though I'm a fan of a European standardised railway system to make the entirety of Europe interoperable with each other. Our older trains, up until the later 2000's, were truly unique. Mostly because they were designed in-house. Yeah, I think for new trains, they basically should've just taken the ICM and redesigned it up to modern standard. Actually one very small design thing that bothers me a lot about new trains, including the SNG, is how blue they are on the inside. One of the things that's very comfortable with the ICM and VIRM is that internally, they have very warm coloring. DDZ a little less so, being a bit more blue, but it's still very homey with the mock wooden floors. However, with the new trains, they've gone with a completely cold color scheme (blue, white, gray, black). This gives the trains a really cold and uncomfortable vibe. Colors are important actually.
Meanwhile, NS are leaking money and ticket prices will increase even further, unfortunately. That said, as a Dutchman I'm looking forward to this DLC, it will be my last DTG purchase until they fix the performance issues (or increase the official minimum specs on PC, so that I can't complain about it anymore :')).
As an American looking in, and who watches all the Dutch cab ride videos she can find, it is interesting that the new IC train mentioned above is like the DDZ that has a power car and unpowered, double deck stock and not a true EMU like the ICNG.
Scharfenberg suppremacy! This reminds about the ICM. I know it's asking for a lot, but I really hope they'll recreate how increadibly squeeky the suspension is on the ICM, especially on the balconies and double especially with the balcony door open. It really sounds like a squeeky playground swing being used, also in how continuous the squeeks are. Only very minor thing I'm slightly disappointed by on the rendition of the train itself, is that the driver's door nor the side windows don't seem tained at all. I don't mind a little bit less taint to open up the view a little bit, but I still think these should've been visibly darker tained than the rest of the windows.
Also, something else I'm wondering about regarding the ICM in the game is, I wonder what they're going to do with the cab. It's not like you got a whole lot of headspace up there, and the player POV is pretty darn tall (I'd actually wish the player POV was slightly lower for more immersive POV) Besides, it's not like once you're upstairs at the cab, you have a particularly large walking space. I mean, even if you're forced to duck to move around, I just hope they won't bind the stairs to aumatically walking into the seat. And then have the 2nd man's seat either be forgotten or a click from below the stairs as you can slightly see it from below too.
The DDZ power car (NS Class mDDM) has three powered bogies to make sure that there's enough rail contact to give the train traction. It would be impossible to get a 6 car DDZ moving with just four powered axels, considering the relatively low mass of the mDDM units. The DDZ is a refurbished DD-AR (see below), which had originally been push-pulled by a NS Class 1700 electric locomotive. The locos were swapped out for the mDDM power cars on 50 consists, but the idea was to retain the acceleration that the Class 1700 could provide so that mDDM- and Class 1700 powered consists could be coupled. To put that kind of power on the rails using a power car that weighs less than the loco it replaces, requires more wheels on the rail. Hence the third bogie. The middel bogie is mounted on a sliding system, so it can move outwards slightly (left to right in respect to the DDM's body). This way it can take tighter curves. The idea for this was taken from (wait for it!) model trains, which use the same concept to allow model steam locomotives to run on tight curves. About DD-AR and the conversion to DDZ NS Class DD-AR was a series of double decker trains, intended for short distance services with lots of stops ("aggloregio" in Dutch, which is what the "AR" in "DD-AR" stands for, but more commonly known as "stoptrein" (no points if you guess what that translates to)). The idea was that these units would be mixed with single deck "stoptrein" trains on the intended lines (NS Class MAT'64 in this case), and so the trains would need to have similar driving characteristics. Since double deckers are quite a bit heavier than single deckers, especially when filled with passengers, NS initially decided to have the DD-AR consists be push-pulled by a Class 1700 locomotive (in a similar fashion that the already existing regional double deckers (Class DDM1) were push-pulled by a Class 1600 locomotive). Motor cars (NS Class DDM, "Double Decker Motorwagen") with extra seating later replaced those locomotives on 50 consists, so that the Class 1700 could be put to use elsewhere. The mDDM also added extra seats to each consist. The remaining Class 1700 locos in double cecker consists can be coupled with and controlled (in multiple operation) from an mDDM if consist types are mixed, and vice versa. During the refurbishment program (2011 - 2013), the DD-AR concept was completely dropped. By then, NS had realised that station dwell times were negatively impacted by having lots of people needing to jolt up and down stairs at the (quite numerous!) stops, so local "stoptrein" services (renamed to "Sprinter" by that time) would be operated by single decker trains only from 2013 on, with double deckers being used solely on interregional and intercity services. The refurbished DD-AR trains were quite heavily modified and raised to intercity standards for this reason, and were fitted with different seating layouts for different kinds of travellers (families, people who'd like to work on their laptops and people who like to socialise on train rides). These "zones" are what gives the DDZ it's name: "Double Decker Zoned". Legacy Only 50 DD-AR units were converted into DDZ, with the remaining unused DD-AR coaches being stored on the yard at Nijmegen central station for a few years. A number of them briefly reactivated between 2014 and 2019 because SNG was delayed, again push-pulled by a Class 1700 locomotive. After the rollout of SNG (finally) took off in 2019, the remaining DD-AR cars were scrapped. DDZ remains in service today, and will do so until they're replaced by the new DDNG units in 2029. The Class 1700 locos have been retired in 2024, with all Class 1700 hauled services having been replaced by EMUs or Class E193 (Vectron) hauled trains. "mDDM" stood for "Motorwagen Dubbel Dekker Materieel" ("Motorcar for Double Decker Stock). "DDM1" stood for "Dubbel Dekker 1e Generatie", whish was a double decker express train push-pulled by a Class 1600 locomotive. DDM1 and DD-AR share similar body shells. "DD-AR" stood for "Dubbel Dekker AggloRegio" ("Double Decker Urban (and) Regional") "DDZ" stands for "Dubbel Dekker Zonering" ("Double Decker Zoned") "MAT'64" stood for "Materieel 1964" ("1964 Stock"). .
Well, Cardiff City Network just had their first look and announcement for the 18th Looks like Spoorlijn Zwolle - Groningen is going to be either 25th of march or 1st of april. Technically wouldn't be a late-march release anymore than. But still. First look, which if they don't bring some teaser pics in the meantime, will then also be the first actual official in-game look we'd get of the NS SNG First look will than probably happen somewhere inbetween 1 and 2 weeks from now. Very fitting if the release date will actually be tuesday april 1st, as I have longed believed that any official studio even touching a Dutch route would be an april fool's joke at best
my wallet is crying right now ... cos I want em both + the new Overground route ... and I still havent bought new 2.1 speakers :'(
I was very unimpressed with the Cardiff video so I think i'll skip that and get this instead. Looking forward to this one very much
I think we can expect those after Cardiff releases. I assume DTGs advertising department wants all focus on Cardiff first.
Or they could do both to keep our retention and excitement? Or they could just leak a few images of sng? Who knows?
Let's go, we'll get conductor mode on zwolle-groningen! This is what Matt and JD said: https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxKvUCtsEPnaxunXSC-B6LfIVY_PKy2ogk?si=9wMAFjOi7J6xvOMI
