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gamemanual:streetstracks

Streets and Tracks

Streets and tracks are essential to build a comprehensive road and rail network in the game. Streets are automatically built when a new game is created, so that towns and industries can directly be connected. In contrast, tracks can only be built by the player. Streets are also automatically built and upgraded when towns expand. In contrast to tracks, the player usually does not own streets (even if they have been constructed by the player). Towns can construct new town buildings along streets and AI controlled cars and pedestrians can use them without restrictions.

The construction costs are a combination of:

  • costs per meter (depending on street/track type)
  • costs for bridges (depending on the height above ground)
  • costs for tunnels (depending on the depth below ground
  • costs for upgrades like railroad catenary

Streets and tracks have speed limits, depending on the type used. On curved tracks, the speed of trains is also limited by the curve’s radius. A smaller radius will result in a lower top speed. Rail bridges have an additional speed limit, which may lower the speed limit of the used tracks. The top speed of tracks is displayed while constructing tracks and can later be seen in the according data layer.

See the list below for detailed information on costs and speed restrictions.

Streets

The street construction menu can be reached by selecting the road button in the toolbar and switching to the STREETS tab 1.

The menu consists of several button groups with different purposes.

Building and Replacing Streets

It is possible to filter the list of available street types by using the category filters 2.
There are 4 categories:

  • Urban streets have a pedestrian sidewalk. They usually are built in towns and town buildings can spawn along them.
  • One-Way streets only have lanes in one direction. They usually are built in towns and town buildings can spawn along them.
  • Country streets have higher speed limits. They usually are used for connections between towns. No new houses spawn along them.
  • Highway streets have the highest speed limits. They are used for fast connections between regions of the map. No new houses spawn along them.

Below the button groups is the list of available street types 3. They can be used in three different build modes. You can select one of the modes by clicking the buttons on the right side 4.

Building new Streets


curves of straight and curved mode

slope aligned to ground

manual slope gradient selection

bending with M and N

There are two modes available for building new streets that you can find in the top right corner 4.

With the straight building mode the street forms a straight connection between the start and end point. The only exception is when streets are pulled from existing streets or intersections and the angle to an existing street is too narrow.

In contrast, the curved building mode tries to arrange the road in an arc in such a way that the transitions to existing road segments can be made without sharp bends. It also depends on the direction in which you drag the road after you have pressed the left mouse button.

To build a new street segment, click at the place where it should start and drag the mouse to the place where the street segment should end. After releasing the left mouse button, it is possible to move the end to another place by picking up the grey circle (that is highlighted blue on mouse over). The streets usually snap to existing streets if they are close enough. The area in which this effect occurs can be reduced by holding SHIFT while dragging the street. The street will snap to a straight segment when aligned within a few degrees. This can be disabled by holding SHIFT too.

After releasing the left mouse button, an arrow button indicating the current slope appears at the end of the segment. Then the segment is aligned to the terrain height at the end position. When that arrow button is pressed, the manual slope selection mode is activated. Then it is possible to manually select the desired slope gradient by using the and buttons. With SHIFT pressed, the steps are smaller for finer control. By pressing on the slope indicator, the automatic slope alignment can be activated again.

To control the height of the street use the following buttons:

  • Use , and . before dragging to change the start height of the new segment. This is only relevant when not extending an existing piece of street.
  • Use M and N while or after dragging to change the inner heightwise curvature of the street segment. This can be used to create small bend bridges or force small tunnels as underpasses (see image).
  • Use , and . while or after dragging to change the height of the end point of the street segment. This can be used to form upward or downward ramps.

If buildings have to be demolished to build the street, a yellow warning message will pop up and the buildings will be highlighted in yellow. To finally confirm and actually build the street segment, press the button or press the button to dismiss the current proposal.


Bridges and Tunnels



Whenever the distance of the street level to the ground level is big enough, a bridge or tunnel is proposed. Before finishing the construction, choose the bridge or tunnel type to adjust the look and maximum speed. This can be done by clicking on the bridge respectively tunnel icon above the road.

Type Max. Speed Availability
No Bridge
Stone Bridge 90 km/h from 1850
Iron Bridge 180 km/h from 1910
Suspension Bridge 180 km/h from 1940
Cement Bridge 320 km/h from 1970
Cable Stayed Bridge 320 km/h from 2000

Note that bridges can also be built partially and curved. Enabling the manual slope gradient control described above will avoid an automatic adjustment to the ground. Bridges can also be fitted with waypoints. The same is possible with tunnels as soon as the street is far enough below ground level.

To create a tunnel or bridge directly use , respectively . at least 5 times before dragging.

Replacing existing Streets

To replace existing streets with a different type, select the street type with which the existing one should be replaced in the list 3 and activate the replace mode by clicking on the button in the top right corner 4.

Sections that do not have the selected street type are displayed in red, all others are blue. Usually the tool is applied to all sections between two intersections or until the next street type change. If you like to modify only some sections, hold SHIFT while applying the tool. The affected sections are highlighted in blue as well.

In addition, it is possible to add or remove tram tracks or bus lanes at the same time. The default setting “keep” will replace the street type but keep bus lanes or tram tracks, if there are any.

Street Constructions

Switch to the STREET CONSTRUCTIONS tab on the top 1 to get to the street constructions. These are template structures consisting of different streets. Once placed they are editable as if they would have been constructed by hand. Before being placed, some parameters like the number of lanes and the size can be set. There are several constructions available:


Modifying Streets

Switch to the TOOLS tab on the top 1 to get to the modification submenu. You can add or remove tram tracks with or without catenary as well as bus lanes. Bus lanes are generally not used by individual traffic. Also you can change if a street is owned by the player. Streets that are owned by the player are not automatically upgraded by towns, but you pay maintenance costs for them. Lastly, you can upgrade intersections to use traffic lights. Sections that do not have the selected tool applied yet are displayed in red, all others are blue.

To swap the direction of one-way streets and highways, use one of the first three modification tools or use the replace mode and right click on the street segment.

Usually the tools are applied to all sections between two intersections. If you like to modify only some sections, hold SHIFT while applying the tool. The affected sections are highlighted in blue as well.

Bus lanes cost 10%, tram tracks cost 20% and electrified tram tracks cost 40% of the street costs.

Waypoints

Switch to the WAYPOINTS tab on the top 1 to get to the waypoint submenu. When creating lines, a waypoint can be used to force road vehicles to use the street where the waypoint is created to get from one station to another.

Waypoints can be placed along any road section that is not part of a construction like the roads inside industrial plants. It is also possible to select which traffic lane should be used. See the lines page for more details. Vehicles can switch lanes at intersections and wherever a street segment ends.

Street Type List

Type Max. Speed Lanes Availability Cost per m
Small Street 20 km/h
30 km/h
2 1850 - 1925
from 1925
20
Medium Street 40 km/h
50 km/h
2 1850 - 1925
from 1925
40
Large Street 60 km/h
60 km/h
4 1850 - 1925
from 1925
60
Extra Large Street 60 km/h 6 from 1925 80
Small one-way Street 30 km/h 1 from 1925 20
Medium one-way Street 50 km/h 2 from 1925 40
Large one-way Street 60 km/h 3 from 1925 60
Small Country Road 40 km/h
60 km/h
2 1850 - 1925
from 1925
25
Medium Country Road 60 km/h
80 km/h
2 1850 - 1925
from 1925
50
Large Country Road 80 km/h
100 km/h
4 1850 - 1925
from 1925
75
Extra Large Country Road 100 km/h 6 from 1925 100
Highway Ramp 60 km/h 1 from 1925 25
Medium Highway 80 km/h 2 from 1925 50
Large Highway 100 km/h 3 from 1925 75

Tracks

Tracks are required for any train to be used. They connect stations and depots. The track construction menu can be reached by selecting the rail button in the toolbar and switching to the TRACKS tab 1.

The menu consists of several button groups with different purposes.

Building Tracks


alignment along existing tracks


track laying with contour line layer

To build tracks, switch to the TRACKS tab on the top 1. Below the button groups is the list of available track types 2 with the two types:

Type Max. Speed Availability Cost per m
Standard Tracks 120km/h from 1850 75
Highspeed Tracks 300km/h from 1925 150

In contrast to streets, there is no distinction between straight and curved build mode. The build tool always tries to arrange the tracks in an arc in such a way that the transitions to existing track segments can be made without sharp bends. It also depends on the direction in which you drag the track after you have pressed the left mouse button. If you drag the track to an existing end, it will snap there too at an appropriate angle. As the speed is restricted by the radius of the curves, small numbers indicate what the final speed restrictions in that area will be.

The dragging and snapping behavior can be controlled in the same way as described above for streets. The same applies to the height adjustment of tracks. Keep in mind that tracks can't be placed as steep as streets and that there is a minimal curve radius for tracks. To see the contours of the terrain better it is recommended to use the contour lines layer while building rails along mountains.

If buildings have to be demolished to build the tracks, a yellow warning message will pop up and the buildings are highlighted in yellow. To finally confirm and actually build the track segment, press the button or press the button to dismiss the current proposal.


Advanced Track Layouts

To build a parallel track, point next to an existing track (the cursor will turn blue), left click and drag along the existing track. This can be repeated multiple times.

To build a switch, point at an existing track, where the switch should start, left click and drag at a narrow angle away from the existing track. Dragging at a large angle will create a crossing instead of a switch.

The technics of switches and parallel tracks can be combined to construct various types of switches and crossings:


1. Double Switch


2. Crossover


3. Extended Crossover


4. Diamond Crossover


5. Double Slip Switch


6. Three Way Switch

  1. A double switch can be built by extending parallel tracks as a switch.
  2. To build a crossover, point at an existing parallel track, where the crossover should start. Left click and drag in the direction where the crossover should go.
  3. The same concept can be used to construct extended crossovers crossing multiple tracks.
  4. To build a diamond crossover, point at the end of an existing crossover (the cursor will snap and turn blue). Left click and drag to the opposite side of the crossover.
  5. To build a double slip switch, point at a crossing with a flat angle, left click and select YES in the dialog. If the crossing is not highlighted while hovering it, the angle is probably too steep, and it cannot be upgraded.
  6. A three way switch currently is not possible.

Rails and streets can be crossed in any way possible. Simply drag a track over a street or the other way around to create a railroad crossing. You can change the crossing type either during the construction or afterwards by clicking on the crossing bars and selecting the new type.


Bridges and Tunnels

Like with streets, whenever the distance of the track level to the ground level is big enough, a bridge or tunnel is proposed. Before finishing the construction, choose the bridge or tunnel type to adjust the look and maximum speed. This can be done analogous to the streets. See the section above for a list of available bridges.

Note that bridges can also be built partially and curved. Enabling the manual slope gradient control will avoid an automatic adjustment to the ground. Keep in mind that tracks can't be placed as steep as streets. Bridges can also be fitted with switches, signals, and waypoints. The same is possible with tunnels as soon as the track is far enough below ground level.

To create a tunnel or bridge directly use , respectively . at least 5 times before dragging.

Modifying Tracks

Switch to the TOOLS tab on the top 1 to get to the modification submenu. You can add or remove catenary or up- respectively downgrade the track type. Sections that do not have the selected tool applied yet are displayed in red, all others are blue.

Usually the tool is applied to all sections between two switches or several hundred meters of track when there are no switches. If you like to modify only some sections, hold SHIFT while applying the tool. The affected sections are highlighted in blue as well.

Signals

Switch to the SIGNALS tab on the top 1 to get to the signal submenu. Signals are used to split the track network in smaller parts so that more than one vehicle can be driving around safely.

Signals can be turned into one-way signals. Trains may only pass them if the signal is pointing in the direction of the approaching train. One-way signals are indicated by a symbol with one white and two black dots in the signal icon.

When creating lines, signals can be used as waypoints, too.

Waypoints

Switch to the WAYPOINTS tab on the top 1 to get to the waypoint submenu. When creating lines, a waypoint can be used to force trains to use the tracks where the waypoint is created to get from one station to another. Also there is a special waypoint that will additionally cause passing trains to use their horn.

Waypoints can be placed along any track section that is not part of a switch or construction like the tracks inside stations. They are valid in both directions and are indicated by a marker with a single white dot.

Learn more about signals and waypoints usage in terms of line management.


gamemanual/streetstracks.txt · Last modified: 2023/12/22 15:56 by marlon