How do i set up an express route?

[bobw73]

I have to set up an express route from city 1 to city 4 with city 2 & 3 in the middle. I set up the route and designate it Passenger only. But the engine doesn't leave the station, just sits there. When I switch it over to automatic, it loads in a nano second and takes off with a load of freight. What am I doing wrong?

[chaney]

From the Passengers section of the guide I compiled from things learned on this forum:

"If the train can gain formal "Express" status (lightning bolt icon in the train list) they pay a premium, too. Developers have said Passengers and Mail pay a 10% premium to travel by Express. There is some confusion as to the formal requirements to qualify for Express status (not to be confused with the setting to carry only Express goods that the player can set) but it appears to require that a particular engine make a quick round-trip time for the route. There are suggestions that the engine *must* be the fastest available, but that does not seem to be true. To make quick times, use fast engines, add speed increasing personnel, and limit the train to few cars. A train with 8 cars and no personnel can become an Express, but it seems easier with the adjustments. It has been suggested that straight and level track help, which would indicate that the quick time isn't just measured against previous trips, but there is a fixed standard that must be met. Further details are unclear to me, but but the time requirement seems to depend on distance between the Cities (of course) and what trains speed is available to any company in the game, so if you get behind in train model you might not be able to get the status. The status progress can be monitored on the train management screen at the little yellow dial to the left of the train picture. It will build up with successful trips, and if it gets into the gold zone at the top, you get Express Status. This typically takes at least two trips, but I have seen Express Status granted in single very long trips."

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1293183195

Those are the tips for obtaining the Status.

If you are not getting passengers to load, there may not be any available for the route. They are generated slowly for trips between small Cities.

If you build and use bypasses to go around Cities 2 and 3 you will have quicker trips to earn the Status faster.

You *could* try setting max cars to 0. I don't know if carrying no passengers or cargo at all would disqualify earning the progress/Status so it would be nice to find out if such a degenerate exploit works :/

[Dray Prescot]

Passengers and Mail will load and unload at intermediate stops on the way, as long as the route is not more than about 100% longer (see the Guide mentioned above for more details) than the direct path between the two Cities, and you get PAID for each partial leg of their desired journey between two Cities. Your payment is based on HOW LONG it took, in addition to how much of the desired journey was accomplished.

So setup a Train, with fast train designed for express routes, with Passengers/Mail ONLY with NO Minimum on number of carloads, i.e. Minimum is set to ZERO (or to a Small number like 1 or 2), and have the train stop at all 4 Cities going in both directions, i.e. 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 to 3 to 2 (with an implied return to start, i.e. to 1 at the end).

But if Cities 2 or 3 are way off the direct line between 1 and 4 then the Passengers and Mail will not use that train between 1 and 4. This train should be pick up any available Passengers/Mail, that have waited less than 14 days at each of the various Stops/Cities that want to go in THE direction that it is currently heading.

Look at the Passenger/Mail Screen at each City, and you will see so many (a number) want to go a particular different City. They will get on ANY train that takes Passengers and Mail heading in the right direction with stops at Cities, as long as the path is less than twice as long as the direct path. They will also only WAIT 14 Days before going by overland means, i.e. by other than railroads. Techs can and will change this.

[Totemych]

yes two minimum loads is good enough but i prefer three or four loads to reduce traffic in conjuction with "arrival time table" technology researched.
but if train will stop at 3 stations the express stasus might be lost on any leg of route. it depends on track layout . Also traffic could be asymetrical in this game.
you should analyze city info to choose which direction bring more profit. usually it is 4 or 6 top cities, and woud be preferable to connect.

[bobw73]

Wow! you guys all really came through for me. I never realized how in depth this subject was. I am realizing there is a hell of a lot to this game. Thank you for your answers, I'm sure I can now get an express train going.

[mbutton15]

Just thought I'd chuck this thread in to the discussion as it might throw even more factors to take into account (namely engine choice):
https://steamcommunity.com/app/503940/discussions/0/1742260304699954456/

[chaney]

I would typically set up trains running between adjacent Cities only, using as many trains as needed to handle the available traffic. Since passengers and mail will transfer, this is better than running a multi-city route for a couple of reasons:

-Each train is more likely to attain/maintain Express Status, which comes with a small premium.

-There will rarely be balanced demand along the chain, so if you run enough trains to carry the heavy legs, they will run under loaded on the other legs. Adjust the trains to carry the low demand legs, and you miss some opportunity in the high demand legs. You could supplement the routes by adding trains that just run the heavy legs.

-Longer routes will tend to lead to more phasing problems. The trains will eventually bunch up, and the trailing trains will be less efficient, and any long gaps that result will leave business unserved.

-Point to point track on 2-Station routes gives the most efficient Station throughput while saving a lot of money by not using Signal Control Stations.

[Dray Prescot]

However, many task goals can be to achieve express status between two distant Cities, or to carry a certain amount of mail and/or passengers between those two distant Cities, by a certain date.

[chaney]

Sure, for goals you don't bother with general efficiency and perhaps build a dedicated set of tracks or at least bypasses around the Cities between.