engineer595

[edward.martin59]

Where do I find German train speed limits? Or, what are the speed limits for German freight trains?

[Sizigmund]

German trains have a device called EBULA. It's a kind of electronical road map list. It shows the train driver his current possition and bring him an information about speed limits, stations, e.t.c.. You can see this device in all german trains, it is a black screen on the right side. Now it is black in TSW because it is not implemented, if you want to see it working, look at "Zusi 3" videos on youtube. If you want a simplified implimintation of EBULA, you can download a mod from here https://rail-sim.de/forum/wsif/index.php/Entry/5553-EBuLa-f%C3%BCr-RRO-S-Bahn/ but it is working only on "Ruhr-Sieg Nord" and "Main-Spessart Bahn". Otherwise you can't get any info of speed limits on the track and have to play with HUD turned on. The maximum speed limit for German train is according to the rolling stocks and it can be 120 km/h maximum as I found on the internet.

[Mountainman]

As Sizigmund already said: The maximum freight train speed is variable. 120 kph running is mostly while under LZB surveillance (which isn't simulated in TSW) only and if all locos and wagons in the consist are allowed to run 120kph. It's not very common in reality and most of these trains are intermodal trains. In PZB surveillance areas, maximum speed mostly is 100 kph, though in reality it depends on the total available braking force in the train. This differs greatly between the trains. So if you drive a train with a lower brake force it will have a lower speed limit. In real life I have mostly driven freight trains with Vmax 90 kph or 100 kph so far.

Technically 140 and 160 kph running is also allowed for freight trains in germany. We had some of this 'super fast' intermodal trains which hauled mail over night through the republic some years ago. You will then have special fitted freight cars and they used BR 101's to haul these trains. I think they fitted the wagons with electro pneumatic brakes and magnetic brakes back then, just like the Intercity cars nowadays.

Actually the maximum allowed speed is a pretty complex topic during driver licence training. So the above is just a (very) short summary of the subject.

You can read out the wagons maximum allowed speed at the diagrams which are painted on each side of the wagon. s=100 kph, ss or 120 = 120 kph. DTG has given all german wagons a maximum allowed speed of 120 kph in the game, which is pretty unrealistic.

[edward.martin59]

Thank you. In the US roads if an empty wagon is in the consist that changes the speed and freights run at a lesser speed. That is what I wanted to clarify.