Is Multiple Station Train Lines Profitable

[Jacobtron1]

Ive only tried 2 stations on train lines would Lines between 3-4 towns work

[Martin]

Yes
I've had 8 city lines coming into 1 city, you can generate alot more passengers this way.

[genemead]

Depends.
They work, but not real well for me.

[larry_roberts]

In Transport Fever I used to use multiple stations (intercity lines) all the time, in this game one to one stations, one track, one train at least for for passenger lines seems to be the norm, freight lines are very different, they are my new multiple station lines!.

[canophone]

The main benefit for multi-stop lines isn't profit. The main benefit is increasing willingness to travel. Generally, lines with only 2 stops are better for profit but don't provide as many passengers.

[Gregorovitch]

Theoretically it's best to do a separate line from each city to the next so that you can optimise train numbers/sizes on each leg. But with so much to do already in the game one could argue life is too short for that sort of detail. Also having passenger trains run through three or four cities feels natural and right somehow plus less lines to manage. What I do is look at the passenger numbers waiting. If A has got 200 wanting to go to B and B has got 200 wanting to go to A but B has got only 40 for C and C 20 for B then I make two lines. But if its a bit more even than that, even if not exactly even, I make one line.

[Gregorovitch]

Originally posted by canophone:

The main benefit for multi-stop lines isn't profit. The main benefit is increasing willingness to travel. Generally, lines with only 2 stops are better for profit but don't provide as many passengers.

If you don't mind me asking I'm interested in why that is and how you know.

[larry_roberts]

I have interconnecting passenger lines 2/3 lines coming into one town, but in Transport Fever passengers could travel to 8, 9, 10 towns on the same intercity train, this game just doesn't seem to lend itself to that way of working!.

[lozacenz]

Originally posted by larry_roberts:

I have interconnecting passenger lines 2/3 lines coming into one town, but in Transport Fever passengers could travel to 8, 9, 10 towns on the same intercity train, this game just doesn't seem to lend itself to that way of working!.

I have a line running through five cities. About half the train load get on and off at most stops (though it does fluctuate), and the biggest problem is keeping enough trains on the line that none of the stations overflow. (I have another line that runs Directly between the two end stations, as well. The trains on both lines run full, all the time.) and that only because trains aren't cheap. They pay for themselves very quickly once built.
Things were about the same in TpF1... if anything, the passengers' destinations seem to be a bit more evenly distributed in 2.

It is HUGELY important that you have busses or trams running locally. Seemingly even if the entire city is in the station's catchment radius, adding trams or busses to bring people to the station still causes a rather large spike in passenger numbers.
It seems to work best if each tram stop is just inside the catchment of the one before it, too. And you want to make sure to go through the middle of town rather than just around the outside, I find.

My experience is that two stations, each catching pretty much the entirety of their city, connected up with a passenger train running between them... you're often lucky if they fill a single coach.
Hook up a third station (usually by extending the line because, again, trains are expensive), and the passenger numbers go up a reasonable amount. seems like a bit more than just what you'd expect if you did the basic maths of how many people from place A want to go to place B or place C (and the reverse).
Set up bus or tram lines at the middle station, and the passenger numbers skyrocket. Then again for each station you repeat the process for.

[canophone]

Originally posted by Gregorovitch:

Originally posted by canophone:

The main benefit for multi-stop lines isn't profit. The main benefit is increasing willingness to travel. Generally, lines with only 2 stops are better for profit but don't provide as many passengers.

If you don't mind me asking I'm interested in why that is and how you know.

Tons of trial-and-error and forum discussions!

[Gorby]

Originally posted by lozacenz:

Things were about the same in TpF1... if anything, the passengers' destinations seem to be a bit more evenly distributed in 2.

I'm glad you mentioned that, I haven't even bothered trying a multi-city loop or straight line because of how bad it was in TpF1. With people waiting on trains to get to cities that are multiple stops away it seemed like you needed more trains than you would if you had one line for each city-to-city connection.

[Kodi]

Originally posted by lozacenz:

Things were about the same in TpF1...

Huh ??...... When it comes to a stopping train service loop ( f.i. A-> B-> C-> D-> E-> D-> C-> B-> A) it is my experience that this was totally impossible in TpF1 (pax would travel from A to E directly, leaving no room for pax at the intermediate stations to board the train) and now works just about perfectly in TpF 2.

It was the major gripe i had with TpF1. Nothing more normal than a stopping train service in the area where i live so i never understood why this wouldn't work in the best transport game of the last years... Clearly UG has put quite some work into this aspect and i, for one, can't thank them enough for that !

if anything, the passengers' destinations seem to be a bit more evenly distributed in 2.

I'd say a LOT more !

It is HUGELY important that you have busses or trams running locally.

Absolutely !

I wanted more AI traffic in my 'ghost towns' (if you have good bus/tram lines running in a city AI traffic is almost non existent), connected a test city to a nearby city via rail but left a city bus/tram line out. Also, as someone suggested, i setup a big 6 lane country road between te cities. AI traffic started to develop fairly good indeed but the train service seemed doomed. 5 or 6 passengers only back and forth....

Then i installed a simple vice versa city-bus line with only 4 stops and 2 busses et voila ! Passengers started to fill up the station almost immidiately, within a year a full train running between the two cities. (looks like that *without* a bus/tram line in one city citizens of the other city don't want to travel there neither... )

Because of the now installed bus line i *think* i see AI traffic deminish bit by bit..... A great pity and ironic pretty much too now that we finally have traffic lights but (almost) no traffic to make use of this most anticipated new feature...

I mean, remember this ? :
https://www.transportfever2.com/wp-content/gallery/screenshots-alpha-tf2/screenshot_01.jpg

I wanted that !

[canophone]

Originally posted by Kodi:

Originally posted by lozacenz:

Things were about the same in TpF1...

Huh ??...... When it comes to a stopping train service loop ( f.i. A-> B-> C-> D-> E-> D-> C-> B-> A) it is my experience that this was totally impossible in TpF1 (pax would travel from A to E directly, leaving no room for pax at the intermediate stations to board the train) and now works just about perfectly in TpF 2.

Not totally... but it usually wasn't the best choice. There are still a few arrangements where I saw loops as best.

[Kodi]

Originally posted by canophone:

Originally posted by Kodi:

Huh ??...... When it comes to a stopping train service loop ( f.i. A-> B-> C-> D-> E-> D-> C-> B-> A) it is my experience that this was totally impossible in TpF1 (pax would travel from A to E directly, leaving no room for pax at the intermediate stations to board the train) and now works just about perfectly in TpF 2.

Not totally... but it usually wasn't the best choice. There are still a few arrangements where I saw loops as best.

Yes, i know what you mean. If enough looong trains running within the stopping train loop and maybe even a seperate intercity between A and E (in this case) you could get away with it but it remained pretty clear that train passengers in TpF1 *loved* an A -> B vice versa scheme above anything else. I am glad to see they have no problem anymore traveling from A to C or D to B or whatever. As far as i'm concerned a great point in the right (realistic) direction. ;-)