Road Map Train Sim World 5 Roadmap (part 1): August 2024

Read the Train Sim World 5 Roadmap (Part 1) in full on our website!

TL;DR (too long; didn’t read) Summary

• Dovetail Direct: Summer 2024 – Catch up on our latest major announcements for TSW and more!
• Train Sim World 5 – Arriving September 17th 2024
  • West Coast Main Line: London Euston – Milton Keynes
  • Avanti Class 390 Pendolino
  • San Bernardino Line: Los Angeles – San Bernardino
  • Frankfurt – Fulda: Kinzigtalbahn
  • FlixTrain BR 193 Vectron
  • Free Starter Pack - A new way into TSW for everyone!
    
• Future Route Announcements
  • MBTA Commuter: Boston – Framingham/Worcester Line
  • Great Western Express – Remaster
  • Pfälzische Ludwigsbahn: Mannheim – Kaiserslautern
  • West Coast Main Line: Preston – Carlisle from Just Trains
  • Cardiff City Network – TSW's first Welsh route!
  • Spoorlijn Zwolle – Groningen – TSW's first Dutch route!
  • Update on Tadami Line from Union Workshop – TSW's first Japanese route!
    
• Airbus Planes are coming to Train Sim World 5!
• Train Sim World VR: New York – Our first venture into VR on the Harlem Line!
• Train Sim World Tycoon – A new free-to-play title coming to Roblox this year
• City Transport Simulator: Tram – Details on the new 0.3 update

Dovetail Direct: Summer 2024


Train Sim World 5 - Main Menu Music


Train Sim World 5 - Routes and Locos
West Coast Main Line: London Euston - Milton Keynes












Avanti West Coast BR Class 390 Pendolino












San Bernardino Line: Los Angeles - San Bernardino

 

Frankfurt Fulda: Kinzigtalbahn
















FlixTrain BR 193 Vectron

 

Get Onboard with The Free Starter Pack

We love being closely involved across the many TSW communities, and we’ve come to understand that for many players, there’s a growing desire for a more accessible entry point to jump into the latest version of Train Sim World. We’re very excited and proud to reveal that this year, we’re providing a free opportunity to get onto the newest release, across all our supported platforms, with our Free Starter Pack, that joins our roster of Train Sim World 5 bundles.



What is the Train Sim World 5 Free Starter Pack? 

The Free Starter Pack will give you access to the Training Center and the core feature set of Train Sim World 5 features (more on this tomorrow) that aren't tied to route-based content. This pack won’t provide you with any routes on its own, so if you’re interested in the new Train Sim World 5 content, you’ll find more value in our premium bundles that include the routes and locos we’ve covered, and you can find breakdowns within our TSW5 Bundle FAQs.

However, if you already play Train Sim World on the same platform and account, you will be able to bring any compatible add-ons you already own into Train Sim World 5 and play them with the newest features.
On top of being a fantastic way for new players to begin their TSW journey, this is also a good benefit to existing players. The Free Starter Pack allows you to:

• Access new add-ons released after the launch of Train Sim World 5, even if you have yet to purchase a core bundle.
• Update any previously owned compatible routes to their current remastered variants (West Somerset Railway, Cathcart Circle Line or the upcoming Great Wester Express remaster).
• Explore any TSW patches you have missed on your favourite routes if you weren’t on the most up-to-date version of Train Sim World.

Once you claim the Free Starter Pack, it is yours to keep forever, but as an important note, this offer to claim the pack will only be available for 30 days after the launch of Train Sim World 5 and therefore will expire on the 17th October 2024, so be sure to share the word!

If you have any more questions, be sure to head to our TSW5 FAQs where you can see details on the Free Starter Pack, and much more!

 

Future Roadmap Additions


We hope you enjoyed the ‘Take A Ticket’ reveal show we featured on the recent Dovetail Direct, which announced six brand new routes (and two brand new countries!) coming to Train Sim World in the near future. We wanted to provide some additional detail and work-in-progress screenshots to further explain what you can expect from these announcements, and get you excited for the future beyond Train Sim World 5’s launch!

MBTA Commuter: Boston - Framingham/Worcester Line
We will be returning to Boston to embark on another journey across the MBTA Commuter network; instead of heading south towards Providence, this time we’ll be heading West into the heart of Massachusetts along the Framingham/Worcester line.


You’ll be working the line with the existing F40PH-3C, as well as the distinctive and new HSP46, which you can see is already looking rather splendid.  Accompanying the already existing single-deck BTC and CTC cars, highly anticipated and brand-new double decker MBTA equipment shall also be included.


Great Western Express – Remastered in Train Sim World 5
If you thought the West Somerset and Cathcart Circle remasters were blockbusters, you cannot imagine what’s to come with the incredible work by Game Designer Liam to bring you the Great Western Express Remaster!


Our oldest UK route in TSW will soon be catapulted into modern standards; everything from volumetric skies to enhanced visuals, all the way to entirely rebuilt points of interest. A new timetable will be the perfect way to explore this refreshed route, and there may even be some extra surprises to see along the way… 
What’s new for GWE?

• Full route overhaul with ToD 4 lighting 
• New timetable (Great Western Express 2017)
• Conductor mode on the HST/Mk3's and the Class 166
• Updated landscape, scenery, signage, OHLE, signals and track with TSW 5 shadows 
• Updated lighting and weather effects for all GWE and Diesel Legends stock 
• Upgraded both GWE Class 66’s to latest Class 66 specs, including suspension and audio 
• New and rebuilt landmarks, including Southall depot, Old Oak Common and Ealing Broadway 
• Added new suspension physics to all GWE stock and Diesel Legends Class 08, Mk1 and Mk2’s
• So much more!

Each remaster has accompanied some additional experience for you to enjoy the route in new ways, West Somerset came with a Steam Gala timetable, and Cathcart was supported with the release of the ScotRail Class 380. For Great Western Express, Liam is expanding the experience with additional layers and liveries: 

• Back in Blue! The HST and Class 166 will be available in unbranded blue livery, there will also be formations to mimic the Class 165 
• Going Electric! The Class 387 will appear on the route in unbranded green, airport and Gatwick Express liveries, complete with appropriate numbering and making use of the OHLE between Paddington and Hayes & Harlington 
• Under the ground! With kind permission from Rivet Games, the Class 484 will show up too, masquerading as its former life as D78 Stock in an inspired, unbranded livery 

Please note, you will need to own Brighton Main Line and Island Line 2022 for the 387 and 484 liveries respectively – these will be updates to those add-ons which then layer into GWE. Of course, if you’re an existing owner of GWE in previous TSW titles, here’s a reminder that you will be able to access this in Train Sim World 5 using the Free Starter Pack and experience the remastered route with no extra charge!

Pfälzische Ludwigsbahn: Mannheim - Kaiserslautern
The German adventure continues along the scenic Pfälzische Ludwigsbahn, as it was in 2014. Heading West out of Mannheim Hbf, a hub for railfanning if there ever was one, the route starts off with apace, speeding along to Neustadt (Weinstr) Hbf. It’s then a slower ride from there, winding through the valley to Kaiserslautern. From 111-operated regional expresses to 425s on the Rhein-Neckar S-Bahn, there’s lots of variety to look forward to. And yes, there’s a station called Frankenstein! 


West Coast Main Line: Preston - Carlisle from Just Trains
The Just Trains team are excited to announce; West Coast Main Line: Preston to Carlisle.


Just Trains: “Following on from our highly acclaimed Blackpool Branches: Preston – Blackpool & Ormskirk Route Add-on, it’s full speed North as our next route departs from the City of Preston and runs through detailed and highly immersive scenery through Penrith to the City of Carlisle, which along with the option to drive the un-electrified Morcombe branch, gives you a total of over 100 miles to drive!


Set in the late 1980’s the route features the electrified core of the West Coast Main Line from Preston to Carlisle, however you can operate DMU services on the Morcombe Promenade branch to the seaside. We have also extended the main line north from Carlisle Citadel Station to Kingmoor Yard and Depot.


Just like Blackpool Branches there is a wealth of content for you to enjoy. The feature loco is the impressive, iconic, and complex Class 87/0, along with the BR Mk3a Coaches and FFA/FGA Freightliner Wagons. This 110mph rated locomotive provided power for the main services between London Euston and Glasgow during the 1980’s and will look at home as it storms through the Lune Gorge and onwards to the summit of Shap. 


An exciting and vibrant timetable along with an impressive mix of Express, Freight and Passenger services coupled with the Class 87/0 means that you will not want to miss West Coast Main Line: Preston to Carlisle! Development has also started on our first loco add-on, which itself will be for WCML and add even more highly anticipated variety.” 


We also announce 2 brand new countries coming to Train Sim World in the Dovetail Direct!

Cardiff City Network – Croseo i Gymru! 
Cymru am byth! Expanding our breadth of UK content, we will be exploring rail operations on the other side of the Severn with our very first Welsh route, and where better to start than the capital city of Cardiff. Featuring a densely packed network within the city, intense passenger services will keep you busy aboard Transport for Wales Diesel Multiple Units, operating through many stations on various timetable patterns; a swift departure from the long inter-city running of the WCML routes. 


Spoorlijn Zwolle – Groningen – Hello to Holland!
A long-anticipated arrival is on the way for railfans as we get ready to enter another new country, and it’s a first for Dovetail Games – the Netherlands!

Express and commuter services are the mainstay of the Zwolle – Groningen route, operated by the Nederlandse Spoorwegen’s iconic ICM3 Koploper and SNG (Sprinter New Generation) EMUs. Learn new signals and systems as you dash along the countryside in yellow and blue fashion.  It’s a little further away, but we wanted to take this chance to share our excitement with a very WIP render of the ICM3, complete with its iconic raised cab.


Checking in on Tadami Line from Union Workshop UWS
Bringing us up to an astounding three brand-new countries coming to Train Sim World, during the Dovetail Direct we also briefly mentioned the previously announced Tadami Line, under development by Union Workshop, which will take you across the beautiful scenery of Japan!


Today we have a few new work-in-progress environment screenshots to share from their team on current progress for the upcoming add-on, and we’ll keep sharing more in our monthly roadmaps going forward.


This final screenshot provided below, is one Union Workshop asked us to highlight, known as the “Miyashita three brothers”, a famous train spotting point along Tadami line featuring three bridges within a single picturesque scene.


Airbus Licensed Planes in TSW

 

Train Sim World VR: New York


And the new announcements kept coming, as part of the Dovetail Direct, we also unveiled our VR title - Train Sim World VR: New York! Developed by our friends at Just Add Water, this is our way of taking the way you experience train simulation to a whole new world. From our announcement, we previewed some initial in-development gameplay of what you can expect, which you can watch again from our live event.

Check out our TSW VR: New York Meta store page and add this to your wishlist if you’re interested a whole new way to experience train simulation!

Whilst this new VR title is a part of the Train Sim World family, we wanted to clarify that existing add-ons for TSW will not be compatible in Train Sim World VR: New York.

Train Sim World Tycoon – Coming to Roblox
Further expanding the world of TSW, we’ve been developing an all-new train experience called Train Sim World Tycoon, with our friends at Talewind, coming this year on the Roblox platform. This will be free-to-play game that anyone can access with a Roblox account, will feature multiplayer elements, and suitable for all ages to jump in and enjoy!



We’re hoping to reach out to all new audiences with this title and get even more people excited about the rails. In TSW Tycoon, you will find trains inspired by real world locomotives, and these will feature simpler driving controls that support a wider audience, including those who may be younger.
Whilst playing, you will earn coins to upgrade your station over time to build your network, and exploring the world, you will also encounter new biomes and characters within the game who will help you out. You’ll also be able to encounter other player in a variety of ways:

• Visiting other player stations, and host receiving visitors at your own
• Ride along as a passenger on another player’s train or invite them to join your journey
• Drive around the world alongside others in your trains
• And you can catch some of the TSW Tycoon gameplay from the Dovetail Direct to see it in action.

We’ll keep sharing more information about Train Sim World Tycoon in the coming months, and we will be launching a chance to get in early before the official release and try it out.

City Transport Simulator: Tram
For fans of CTS: Tram, during our Dovetail Direct we also announced the new upcoming 0.3 update, which includes a new Vienna Type D tram, map extensions, new sidings, more player levels and much more!


Catch our CTS summary during the event and check out City Transport Simulator: Tram on the Viewapp website.

 

Yep - we'll cover the core features in greater detail, third party announcements and then the stream that evening.