Road Map Train Sim World 5 Roadmap: November 2024

Read the full Train Sim World 5 November 2024 Roadmap on our website for all the details!

TL;DR (too long; didn’t read) Summary

• Content Up Ahead
  • MBTA Commuter: Boston-Worcester/Framingham Line – Releasing Today!
  • TSW5 Gameplay Add-on Bundle – coming soon!
• Dovetail Games Season of Reveals 2024
  • A new month-wide celebration across December, with exciting announcements and project updates each weekday, ending on the 20th with a special surprise to close off the year!
• Third Party Partner Updates
  • Announcing Mittenwaldbahn – A Brand New Route from TSG!
  • West Coast Main Line: Preston – Carlisle from Just Trains coming November 26th
  • Manchester Airport Commuter from Alan Thomson Simulation
  • Fife Circle Line Levenmouth Branch Update – Arriving before the end of the year!
  • Introducing Incredible Trains – A New Third-Party Solo Developer!
• Patches and Updates
  • WCML South – Major Improvements coming early December
  • Train Sim World 5 – Released Updates
  • State of Play: Performance, Crashes and Textures
  • Mod Packaging Optimisations
• Community Corner
  • Train Sim World: Tycoon – Play now on Roblox!

October Roadmap Livestream - Live Tonight


Content Up Ahead
MBTA Commuter: Boston - Framingham/Worcester Line – Releasing Today!


Train Sim World 5’s first Add-on is here, with an adventure across the east coast of the USA and the culturally rich city of Boston, MA! Get ready to go purple with the MBTA HSP46 and MBTA F40PH-3C diesel locomotives, including the BTC & CTC bi-level cars.







Train Sim World 5 Gameplay Add-ons – Coming Soon!
Coming up in December, we’ll be releasing all-new gameplay add-ons that aim to bring more content for the routes included in Train Sim World 5; West Coast Main Line South, Frankfurt-Fulda and the San Bernardino Line.

As an important note, these gameplay pack will only be available for players on PC platforms (Steam and Epic Games) and Gen-9 consoles (PS5 and Xbox Series S/X).

Our teams have additionally been working on further improvements to support these core routes alongside these gameplay packs, for all platforms, to help improve the experience and address community feedback. In particular, thi includes extensive improvements for the WCML South route, which we share more news about later in this article.

Expect more details about the content with these packs in early December, with a new event coming up that we're exicted to announce to you all today!

Dovetail Games Season of Reveals 2024
As we approach the holiday season, we've got a real treat prepared that will fill the entire month with excitement and speculation!

We'll calling it the "Season of Reveals 2024", an event that will fold together all new TSW add-on reveals, additional news on announced projects and updates from a huge range of our third-party development teams! This will mainly focus on Train Sim World, but will also include our other titles, with a new look at our VR title, TSW VR: New York, future development details on City Transport Simulator: Tram and more!

The celebration starts on December 2nd 2024, and every day at 14:00 UTC we will release a new update video, in a similar style to our "Take a Ticket" reveals in our recent Dovetail Direct. It all concludes on December 20th with a special surprise that we've been waiting to tell you about for quite some time!

Oh, and you can expect weekly giveaways for TSW5 add-on keys throughout the month too! This should be a really exciting period as we round off the year, and get everyone on board for a fantastic new year ahead.

As a note, we won't have a December 2024 roadmap, but we'll catch you at the start of next month with all the fun reveals!

Third-Party Partner Updates
Announcing Mittenwaldbahn – A Brand New Route from TSG!

Get ready to head back to Austria and discover the Mittenwald Pass in TSG's newest upcoming route: Mittenwaldbahn: Innsbruck – Garmisch-Partenkirchen!


This cross-border mountainous adventure will be sure to leave you breatheless, and the TSG team wanted to further the excitement with a short teaser for the line.



And for a final spoiler, with Mittenwaldbahn you'll be adding the new ÖBB 1020 Krokodil locomotive to your collections, rewinding the clock back to 1989.



That's it, our lips are now sealed! We can guess many of you are extremely keen to find out more, so hold tight as our December Season of Reveals event will be the chance for us to provide more insight into the gameplay you can expect, and reveal all-new details!



West Coast Main Line: Preston – Carlisle from Just Trains

If you've not heard about the impending Just Trains route, you may be stuck in the past - then again, this 1980s nostalgic route may just do that to you. West Coast Main Line: Preston - Carlisle will feature the electrified core of the WCML from Preston to Carlisle, riding the new Class 87/0 and offer DMU services with an updated Class 101 across the Morecambe Promenade branch to the seaside!

To kick things off with this section - after reviewing where we are with builds, we have made the difficult decision to delay the release of the Add-on until Tuesday 26th November.

This is to allow the Just Trains and our internal QA teams to review some final issues and polish the route.

Thursday's preview stream will still happen, as before, this Thursday (14th), in which we're looking forward to showing you the route in action with Thomas and Benedict from Just Trains - thank you for your patience as we get this highly-anticipated release into the best possible condition for you to enjoy.



The trains, services and timetabling reflects the scene set in the northwest circa 1986 and features a wide variety of traffic from the era. The total number of playable services available with all layers included from other Add-ons is over 300, with plenty of additional AI traffic to see as part of the experience.

• Class 87/2 = 100+ services
• Class 101 DMU = 50+ services
• Class 47/4 = 50+ services
• Class 08 = 25+ services

Class 87 express services run the full length of the route from Preston to Carlisle. These vary from London Euston - Carlisle trains (arriving from off the map at Preston) to ‘cross country’ services running from the south of England off the map at Carlisle and onward to Scotland. These expresses almost always stop at Lancaster with some variation in services that stop at Oxenholme and Penrith. The Class 87 also works steel and freightliner trains.



The Class 101 operates stopping services alongside the Class 142 Pacer (which substitutes services for owners of Blackpool Branches). These mainly focus around Lancaster and run from Carnforth (originating from off the map at Barrow or Leeds via Skipton) to Morecambe. A few Class 101 services also exist from Preston through to Carnforth from where they head off map towards Barrow or Carlisle via the Cumbrian Coast.

The Class 47 features on a variety of freight and passenger services throughout the route.

The Class 08 is used mostly for the shunting of parcels stock at Preston whereas at Carlisle it is used for coaching stock shunting at both ends of Carlisle station, but also sees service on freight trip workings originating in Kingmoor Yard and running to various places in Carlisle itself.
As mentioned in our Coming Soon article, a total of 6 hours of shunting is available using the Class 08.



When split out by service type, the number of services for each type of train is as follows:

Class 87

• 21 Intercity West Coast Diagrams
• 24 Cross Country Diagrams
• 12 Sleeper Diagrams
• 11 Mail Diagrams
• 11 Intermodal Diagrams
• 8 Steel Trains
• 6 Speedlink Diagrams

Class 47

• 2 Passenger
• 4 Additional Passenger Diagrams
• 4 Railtour Diagrams
• 3 Steel Diagrams
• 3 Mail Diagrams
• 2 Limestone Diagrams
• 2 Ballast Diagrams
• 5 Oil Diagrams
• 3 Speedlink Diagrams

Class 101

• 52 Carnforth/Lancaster - Morecambe Diagrams
• 10 Preston - Barrow Diagrams

A Note for players on 8th generation consoles, after reviewing performance we've amended the timetable to provide a suitable experience for those on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. This will include the provision of a streamlined timetable and an absence of road traffic throughout the environment.

Notable AI Services


At Preston you will see services from locations out of the map at Colne and Ormskirk arrive into the south end, as well as services to and from Blackpool. This means it's a hive of activity all day. The Class 87 also interchanges on the services that are bound for Blackpool which means you can see the AI perform a number of loco changes throughout the day.

At Carlisle you will see AI services arrive at the north end from off the map locations such as Glasgow and at the south end from the Settle and Carlisle line, the Tyne Valley and the Cumbrian Coast, meaning DMUs are regularly seen arriving and departing.

At Oxenholme you will see the Windermere service operating the branch out of the map.

Conclusion

The result is not only a base timetable offering hours of varied and nostalgic gameplay with the existing rolling stock, but also a fully-fledged experience of 1980s British Rail action encompassing passenger, freight, electric, diesel and steam services for players that own all of the relevant additional content.

As a reminder, we have our West Coast Main Line: Preston - Carlisle preview livestream this week on Thursday November 14th, joined by Tom and Benedict from the Just Trains team, and giving you a full showcase of the line ahead of it's release.



And to close off this section, the Just Trains team wanted to leave you with a final teaser before we head into our December announcements:

“No need to pant with excitement! In the Top Ten, this DLC will Hit That Perfect Beat especially for those with Suspicious Minds as It’s A Kind Of Magic.”



Manchester Airport Commuter from Alan Thomson Simulation

In our last roadmap, we introduced Alan Thomson Simulation to the community, with the announcement of their first route in TSW: Manchester Airport Commuter!



You'll be able to explore an improved Manchester Piccadilly, multiple modelled depots along the route and two branches of busy commuter traffic to get stuck into.

That's all we'll share for now, as we'll be back in our December reveals with new screenshots and information for the route, and we look forward to showing you the progress for ATS's first TSW add-on.

Fife Circle Line Levenmouth Branch Update – Arriving before the end of the year!

Coming from our partners at Rivet Games, we’re heading back to the Scottish capital with more details about the upcoming release of the Fife Circle & Levenmouth Lines in Train Sim World 5.



If you're only now learning about the Fife Circle line route, be sure to head to our Fife Circle Out Now article, and discover the 52-mile loop around Scotland, starting at Edinburgh Waverly station and splitting into a Main and Loop line at Inverkeithing, following the iconic sight of the Forth bridge from the window of the ScotRail Class 170 Turbostar.



This new update, coming for free to owners of the Fife Circle Line add-on in TSW5, will feature:

• 5.5 mile route extension for the new 2024 Levenmouth railway link
• Over 40 new Timetable services on the new branch
• 2 brand-new stations to discover and explore
• 16 additional collectables to find whilst riding the extension
• Fully playable Conductor Mode within timetable services

You'll even be able to encounter the famous ScotRail dog Loki at Leven station, featured in many ads and social posts from the real world!



Our teams will join you towards the end of the month for a preview of the new update to Fife Circle Line, and we look forward to seeing you all there!

Introducing Incredible Trains – A New Third-Party Solo Developer!
We always love bringing in new third party developers to help us build the best version of Train Sim World possible, and today we have an exciting new solo developer joining the programme: Johannes Hartmann of Incredible Trains

Let’s introduce them and hear some thoughts about their first project.

Q: Can you tell us more about yourself and your background in development?

“Hello! I’m Johannes, founder of Incredible Trains, the latest addition to Train Sim World's third-party developer community. As of now, I’m the sole developer at this brand-new studio, and I'm thrilled to announce that my very first UK route add-on will be joining Train Sim World soon.

With a background in Computer Science, I first got into game development by modding for Transport Fever 2, creating UK rolling stock and asset mods. My proudest achievement as a modder was likely the Transport Fever 2 Timetable Mod, which significantly expanded gameplay options for the community.

I also have some experience in 3D modelling, so when I started experimenting with the TSW PC Editor, it quickly became clear that Unreal Engine would be a fantastic platform to learn new skills while building something I love. What began as a side project during my PhD has since grown into my first game studio, and I’m now gearing up to release my debut UK route add-on!

Dovetail’s fantastic third-party developer program, along with the support of their developers, made it possible for me to turn this vision into reality. I’m so excited to share more about the route in the coming weeks leading up to release.”

Q: What is it that made you want to develop content for Train Sim World? And what's the nature of the project that you're working on?

“I’ve always been a passionate train enthusiast. Though I’m not originally from the UK, I’ve long been fascinated by its railway system. Now living here, I spend a lot of time on the local routes, and this upcoming release will actually feature one of my regular journeys.

I also have a strong love for creating virtual worlds. Over the years, I’ve recreated real-life places in multiple games, but I often felt limited by each game’s constraints, particularly when it came to replicating railway realism. The Unreal Engine provides me with the creative freedom I’ve been looking for, while Train Sim World delivers the realism I want to bring my visions to life.

Originally, this project was intended as a small learning exercise in Unreal and game development. However, I was ambitious from the start, choosing a significant UK region for my first route. I quickly learned what a massive undertaking route creation is, and eventually narrowed my focus to one line that I’m excited to share soon.”

Q: What part of the development process are you really enjoying?

“Developing a route for Train Sim World is incredibly multifaceted, and I’ve come to enjoy every part of it.
Laying the tracks, adding trackside details, and setting up the signalling system were particularly rewarding. I loved learning about the intricacies of UK railway operations and translating that into the route’s functionality.

Then, of course, there’s the scenery. Recreating real-world locations as accurately as possible is a huge part of my work. Modelling and texturing the local buildings, and then seeing everything come together, is incredibly fulfilling.

Gameplay design has also been a highlight for me. Creating a timetable was a detailed process involving the study of real train movements and ensuring smooth interactions between different services. I also enjoyed designing scenarios with little story elements to help players feel fully immersed in the route.
Lastly, there’s the rolling stock itself. This route will feature a train I’ve dedicated a lot of time to. Getting it into the game was challenging but immensely rewarding. Driving my virtual recreation of this route has been especially nostalgic for me, as I now live farther away from it than I used to. It’s a special feeling to relive those journeys in the game, knowing that each detail was crafted from my own memories and experiences.”

 

State of Play: Performance, Crashes and Textures
In this section, we wanted to share with you an honest update for where we're at with regards to overall performance, crash reports in TSW5, and linked to these is also the discussion around textures appearing at a lower-resolution than expected for console platforms. All of these are tied to available memory budgets being exceeded, and our teams have been investigating ways to save memory and help reduce the impact and frequency of these issues.

We've been able to identify small improvements and optimisations we can make, some of which have already been shipped in patches released so far, and the team are constantly reviewing performance data across core content, looking at FPS averages at key stations across the routes, and tracking the overall volume of crashes for each platform.

These issues remain a clear focus of our teams to improve, work is ongoing and profiling continues, but to stay transparent with everyone across our community, it's unfortunately not something our teams will be able to deliver this side of the holidays. We will continue in the new year on our plan to bring you further optimisations with the aim to further reduce the volume of crashes we're seeing in Train Sim World 5, and allow for the best performance possible.

We are grateful for you all staying patient whilst we keep at it, thank you.

Mod Packaging Optimisations
For those of you who enjoy diving into the community modding scene, we've got more good news coming soon, in the form of improvements to optimise loading times when booting with several mods. This primarily affects any modded content that doesn't contain AssetRegistry files, vastly reducing the amount of time needed to load these when booting the game.

As an example from our testing, we've found that with a sample of 50 mods installed, these improvements reduced the time taken to load from roughly 7 minutes, all the way down to 1 minute.

Additionally, alongside this update we have more changes:

• Add-on manager will now fully support scenery overlay mods with dependencies.
• Added mod support on the Microsoft Store/Gamepass version of the game along with the ability to use the Public Editor with that version of the game.

These changes are not yet implemented, but we look forward to supporting our community everywhere we can, and we hope for those who enjoy using community-made content, this will be a big QoL boost.

Community Corner
Train Sim World: Tycoon – Play now on Roblox!


A couple weeks ago, we released our first game onto the Roblox platform, Train Sim World: Tycoon, which has since seen over 5000 positive ratings, and a staggering 1 million visits! We are so excited to see such a positive welcome for this new title, and we can’t wait to keep developing it further with our friends at the Talewind team.

If you’ve not heard about it, this is a multiplayer experience that allows you and a group of friends to build and run your own train stations, and drive a range of locomotives around a charming, stylised world – with easy driving controls that are perfect for all ages! Be sure to check out our TSW Tycoon website to find out more details!

Our journey has only just begun, we've got many more improvements and new content coming up in the future that we can’t wait to share with you all! If you're interested, why not join our Dovetail Games Roblox group, where we can alos see your initial feedback and thoughts!