SkittleKicks Plays Posted January 28 Posted January 28 (edited) I know that this SimRail is based on Polish railroading, but why would timetables need to be a thing for freight? Based on what I've learned freight takes a backseat to commuter and high speed trains in this. Timetables don't make sense in this case due to their low priority status. Freight timetables will put drivers behind schedule because they have to always wait for the commuter or high speeds which costs points in the game. They are far slower to get to speed (again causing delays and loss of points). In the real world freight can take hours to even depart from a yard (I know there is none of that in the game). While freight does have to be delivered timely, it's far different than passenger. I also feel the point system makes the game more of an arcade (getting too close to TSW/TSC or Trainz sessions) vs. a true simulator. This isn't a gripe, but rather an observation of simulation vs. the simcade. I have heard there is a professional version of SimRail used to train really drivers, and I'm sure that doesn't have the arcade aspect. Granted if I knew how to build my own scenarios I would leave timetables out of freight runs. To be blunt I am no coder, I know nothing about LUA (even reading the instruction breaks my brain), and patience lacks in my personality at my age. Edited January 28 by SkittleKicks Plays Spelling error
BigVern Posted February 2 Posted February 2 I can’t speak for Poland but in the UK all freight trains are required to have a schedule whether predefined in the Working Timetable, or bid for through short term VSTP (Control) planning. On a busy railway it is absolutely essential that a slow moving freight has a validated path so as to avoid delaying other services or avoid running up against overnight engineering possessions etc. When I worked in the Control there was some flexibility and freight was occasionally allowed to run early, but with a careful eye on it not disrupting other services. Freight trains likely to start significantly later than their booked time were normally retimed with a fresh schedule, particularly if the inward working was late arriving in order to avoid accruing more delay minutes under the Trust Delay Attribution system. 1
SkittleKicks Plays Posted February 2 Author Posted February 2 If we had industrial drops in SimRail using waybills detailing where train cars are taken and left behind would be a game changer especially in the cargo DLC. All that can be done now is like the original Intermodal run in the Katowice map. All that is bring empties, runaround to the intermodal consist, couple, brake test, then go to the other end of the map. It's fine for basics, but I think we'd all like a challenge. This could tie into what you said about the validated path (or direct route) for the slower freight train not getting sided constantly for passenger. In the US where I am from, freight has always been the priority. It's cheaper to move goods over rail rather than trucks or planes, and consists can be up to 2 miles (3218.69 meters) in length, and require multiple locos to haul. Passenger trains in the US are limited. We have one major intercontinental train company called AMTRAK (federally subsidized and tax funded but has never made profit in the 50+ years it's existed). There has been talk of shutting down AMTRAK, but who knows if it'll happen. We do have light rail commuter trains (for cities). These are electrified trains kind of like the Elf in SimRail and was started roughly in the 90s (at least in my home state), and in San Francisco CA there are street cars. No bullet trains (our nation is vast and it would be extremely expensive to implement, and tax payers won't fund it). Freight track in the US is privately owned by Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, and CSX (these are the major companies) which you can see why passenger trains would be very difficult to do unlike Europe (which is controlled and owned by their governments). I know that's a bit off topic to my post, but I feel for more excitement having detailed freight runs in SimRail would be a game changer. I prefer them over passenger (which can get boring for me), because it is too stressful to stop every few miles mile or so, and wait for passengers to board. Switching (aka shunting), deliveries, exchanges, etc. would be so fascinating in SimRail.
Masterczulki Posted February 2 Posted February 2 The timetable for freight trains is crucial in order to fit them in between passenger trains. If all trains ran perfectly according to schedule, no freight train would cause a passenger train to be delayed. Simrail's ‘problem’ is that traffic intensity is much higher than in reality, which means that any delay to one train causes delays to other trains.
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