Worth it if I never played the first game?

[Tex]

How is it compared to Transport Fever 2? Any way similar to the railroad tycoon series?

[Tsubame ⭐]

Both Railway Empire 1 and 2 are decent games. If you never played either, then I would say the second is better.

Unfortunately for them, both games are outclassed in almost every aspect by Transport Fever 2.

There are a few things Railway Empire 2 has going for it, such as AI competition, co-op multiplayer, better campaign scenarios, points/rankings based on stats and objectives completed, industry ownership, and faster point to point network building. If a proper campaign is paramount to you, and you like steam era trains, or prefer to play with or against other people, you may prefer Railway Empire 2.

However, TpF 2 has vehicles other than trains, trains from all eras, a random map generator AND both a map editor and terraforming and sandboxing tools for existing saves, plenty of mods, can be used for things other than a logistical connect the dots game - i.e. city builder or railway modeler - more flexible building tools, passengers have impact over city growth too, etc. And to top it off is cheaper at full price, never mind the current TpF 2 sale discount. You will probably prefer Transport Fever 2 if you want modern trains, if you want to focus on the transport side of things, and/or you want replayability, modding and customization.

As for Railroad Tycoon:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1644320/discussions/1/3843304884855953349/

[Legionary]

I have not played either of the two games you mention, but I can tell you that I enjoy RE2 very much - like I did RE(1) - the subject, the puzzle and building something huge complex and effective. I'm not in it for the competition, even though the ranking does give a nice touch of that too.
Clearly worth the price.

[Rise]

Both games are fun, first game is a little bit more complex in terms of building but for me second game was much more fun for me because of some QoL updates. Like it more than Transport Fever 2 tbh.