CMK is unplayable

[K Kawa]

 

Greetings. I'm creating this topic to discuss the state of the high-speed line (CMK) in Simrail's multiplayer mode. As many of you already know, on this line we can find three types of trains: high-speed (xxxx), intercities (xxxxx) and freight (xxxxxx). The maximum speeds for each are 200, 140 and 100 respectively (with some exceptions, these are the most representative values). Broadly speaking, there are two sections: the northern stretch, from Grodzisk Mazowiecki to Idzikowice, limited to 200, and the southern stretch, from Idzikowice to Psary, limited to 160, plus a fork going east or west to connect with the Katowice and Kraków lines respectively.

A major challenge for controllers on the high-speed line is organising trains in an optimal way so they don't get in each other's way — that is, making sure at all times that the xxxx trains are ahead of the xxxxx trains, and that both of those are ahead of the xxxxxx trains. It's a simple concept to understand, but it can get very complicated when several things go wrong at the same time. A good controller needs to be able to:

1. Know the distance between their post and the neighbouring posts.
2. Calculate whether two trains of different categories (such as a xxxx and a xxxxxx) will end up getting in each other's way, even if they're currently at a good distance, before reaching the next post.
3. Thoroughly check the spreadsheet (this one's important!) in order to make the right call at all times.
4. And of course, give absolute priority to the faster trains.

All of this is achievable with a decent player at the controls of a dispatch post. Unfortunately, the AI is terrible at this. I'd say the AI is programmed to try to let the higher-priority trains through first, but I've seen so many awful AI screw-ups that at this point I can only describe its behaviour as random — even if that doesn't make any logical sense.

Over the past year, out of roughly 30 ED250 (xxxx) scenarios I've played in Simrail's multiplayer, every single one arrived at least 5 minutes late, and about half of them were delayed by more than 20 minutes. Most of the big delays happened on the high-speed line, where a clueless player or a badly programmed AI sent a xxxxxx right ahead of me — something that has happened to all of us once, if not HUNDREDS of times.

And I can't help but wonder: do these 100 km/h freight trains actually HAVE to run, or do they actually RUN on the real Polish high-speed line? Because if they do, what a mess. The CMK was built with infrastructure designed for 300 km/h. The ED250 reaches 250 km/h. The speed limit sits at 200, and only on sections that don't even make up half the total route. But seriously, what's the point of having these slow freight trains on the high-speed line in the simulator? It's not fun for anyone: plenty of people end up frustrated with a delayed run (like me right now), and I honestly can't see what's enjoyable about driving a freight train at 100 km/h along a completely straight line where every tree is copy-pasted from the one before it. Don't get me wrong, I drive freight trains too — but on more interesting lines like Katowice–Sędziszów or Skierniewice–Łódź. I think if we removed these freight trains from the high-speed line, everyone would be better off. And while we're at it, can we also talk about the fact that there's one of each type EVERY hour? It's unnecessary and just gets in the way.

I've travelled through Poland in real life, between Warszawa and Wrocław on a Pendolino 16XX, and I have to say it arrived 20 minutes late after sitting at Opole for quite a while. Then I went from Wrocław to Katowice, and that train was also very delayed — around 30 minutes or more — and then from Katowice to Kraków, where the train simply showed up at the platform a full HOUR late and kept delaying through Trzebinia. So I suppose delays are part of a realistic simulation? Haha (only half joking — please, Polish folks, don't take it personally).

With all of the above, I just don't see the point in playing any Pendolino xxxx scenario (except, of course, the 16xx/61xx that goes through Łódź), because I have no idea how long it's going to take. It feels like a lottery every time you play: where on the CMK am I going to be stuck for ten minutes staring at a red signal today?

I'd genuinely like to hear what other players think. Do you often play full Pendolino scenarios? Are you as frustrated as I am — to the point where I'm seriously considering avoiding them altogether from now on? Would you remove all freight trains from the high-speed line? What have your experiences been like? I know this has come up in other topics here and there, but mostly in the Polish section, and I think it's worth discussing properly — the CMK is the only thing connecting the two halves of the Simrail map, and getting through it feels like a nightmare every time.