How to create a switch over in a Railway station

[steve silent]

There may be situations where you have a rail station that has trains waiting on the line that wants to go through, but there is already a train at the platform..

Now you can make it so the waiting train, doesn't have to wait.. it just swaps track and switches mid platform..

Heres how.

When you are in Rail station config menu, leave 2 tracks missing in the middle of the platform.. this allows you to make 4 platforms instead of the 2 in basic setup with 2 tracks.

Come out of the config and take normal rail and set up your crossover and connect the tracks back up..

voila

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1975960476

[Martin]

Be careful doing this tho, you might not be able to delete the track due to the crossover bug. In most cases, you can switch the cross to no to delete it, but in a station you might not get that option as it's a different type of switch.

[steve silent]

Originally posted by Aturchomicz:

Cursed Trainstation rail, no but seriouslly this should be put outside of passenger view!!!!

Its not in Passenger view lol.. strange statement that.


https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1975979435

Originally posted by Martin:

Be careful doing this tho, you might not be able to delete the track due to the crossover bug. In most cases, you can switch the cross to no to delete it, but in a station you might not get that option as it's a different type of switch.

Its fully tested and destroyed and put back together again many times..

That bug won't effect in stations.

[babylon218]

Originally posted by Aturchomicz:

Cursed Trainstation rail, no but seriouslly this should be put outside of passenger view!!!!

Er, why? In the UK at least, it is fairly common to have crossovers in between platform roads (or more frequently between platform roads and passing tracks) so stopping services can pass each other or to facilitate divisions in some circumstances. I understand this is also fairly common practice in the Netherlands. I certainly don't understand why passengers being able to see a crossover would be a concern.

[ChunkHunter]

Originally posted by babylon218:

I certainly don't understand why passengers being able to see a crossover would be a concern.

Yup - common to see points inside stations in the Netherlands.

[Gorby]

I was going to ride a train once, but while standing on the platform I could see a crossover track right there for everyone to see. I got out of there quick and called the police.

[Irvsax]

What is the benefit of putting in the actual station? Once a train is on the platform and blocking it, surely it doesnt matter if there is a crossover or not, the track is blocked?

Is it not better to put crossovers at either end of the platform but outside the station before the trains get in there so they can switch tracks at that point and not within the station?

[Martin]

Originally posted by Gorby:

I was going to ride a train once, but while standing on the platform I could see a crossover track right there for everyone to see. I got out of there quick and called the police.

heh..

Funny guy..

Originally posted by Irvsax:

What is the benefit of putting in the actual station? Once a train is on the platform and blocking it, surely it doesnt matter if there is a crossover or not, the track is blocked?

Is it not better to put crossovers at either end of the platform but outside the station before the trains get in there so they can switch tracks at that point and not within the station?

Incoming trains will switch to another track and pass the waiting train.. if you make the platforms long enough the trains don't stop as far down the platform if they're quite short.. they'll "see" a bypass route.. and use it instead. Then when the station is free, use the proper route instead.

Or most likely.. just stop dead in tracks and say there's another train in the way and you'll have a queue of 30 trains all sitting idle full of passengers.. and that +350 mill you had quite rapidly becomes -350 mill.

[steve silent]

Originally posted by Martin:

Originally posted by Gorby:

I was going to ride a train once, but while standing on the platform I could see a crossover track right there for everyone to see. I got out of there quick and called the police.

heh..

Funny guy..

Originally posted by Irvsax:

What is the benefit of putting in the actual station? Once a train is on the platform and blocking it, surely it doesnt matter if there is a crossover or not, the track is blocked?

Is it not better to put crossovers at either end of the platform but outside the station before the trains get in there so they can switch tracks at that point and not within the station?

Incoming trains will switch to another track and pass the waiting train.. if you make the platforms long enough the trains don't stop as far down the platform if they're quite short.. they'll "see" a bypass route.. and use it instead. Then when the station is free, use the proper route instead.

Or most likely.. just stop dead in tracks and say there's another train in the way and you'll have a queue of 30 trains all sitting idle full of passengers.. and that +350 mill you had quite rapidly becomes -350 mill.

Correct Martin

Lets say you have 2 lines

1 local (station to station
1 express

At station 2 the local stop at platform 1

behind it is the express, the express cannot pass because of the local.. so instead the express is redirected to go through platform 3 (opposite 1).

On platform 4 another local is picking up

The express can easily swap onto platform 2 and carry on..

[mongolteiko]

Done it on my video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NmRASylVYk
Just a basic video using zig-zags.

[steve silent]

Originally posted by mongolteiko:

Done it on my video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NmRASylVYk
Just a basic video using zig-zags.

Nice work, and i never considered doing a 5 wide track removing 2 of them like that.. beautiful.

[mongolteiko]

@ steve silent. Thanks. It does create another platform number [and removes it on the removed track section from the platform number sign] but works.

[McMac83]

I use 3 tracks in the station. The track in the middle is the express track and can be used in both directions. That works very good and is easy to build.

[lozacenz]

Originally posted by Irvsax:

What is the benefit of putting in the actual station? Once a train is on the platform and blocking it, surely it doesnt matter if there is a crossover or not, the track is blocked?

Is it not better to put crossovers at either end of the platform but outside the station before the trains get in there so they can switch tracks at that point and not within the station?

The gap left in the station track so you can use regular track for the switch (that's how I do it anyway) splits the platform into two terminals, so you can have two trains stopping on what would otherwise be the same 'track'. If they're coming in from opposite ends you can just stick a platform section in instead of the crossover, but if they're both heading in the same direction a switch like this will let them go around each other. (that is, a train stopped at the first terminal will not prevent access to the second terminal, despite them both being on the same track. Unless they're too long, of course. May sometimes require adding the signals at the crossover as 'stations' on the route to get the line to actually do it properly, though it usually manages to figure it out itself.)

[Irvsax]

Ok, so just to clarify.. you build platforms longer than the trains and then do the switch within the station. Is there any benefit to doing it this way over just putting the switch right in from of the station before any platforms start?

One thing I am finding with this game is that you have to specify the exact platform for a train to go to and it wont go anywhere else to drop off or pick up. I have only done campaigns so far, so nothing too complex, but do trains not work out a way around ones sitting at platforms very well?

[mongolteiko]

Originally posted by Irvsax:

Ok, so just to clarify.. you build platforms longer than the trains and then do the switch within the station. Is there any benefit to doing it this way over just putting the switch right in from of the station before any platforms start?

One thing I am finding with this game is that you have to specify the exact platform for a train to go to and it wont go anywhere else to drop off or pick up. I have only done campaigns so far, so nothing too complex, but do trains not work out a way around ones sitting at platforms very well?

This is how it is in real life. It also gives two platforms instead of one [on the same platform]. See my video [above]. In other words, more through-put. In real life, trains can enter the same platform under 'permissive working' [with a position light signal attached to the main signal]. The train has to enter at a reduced speed and be able to stop short of an obstruction [another train]. They do this to attach to the other unit [to make the train bigger/'reinforced' etc.].