Trams, Metros and Light Rail

A list of trams, metros and light rail available for Train Simulator. Routes and rolling stock, free- and payware. Updated 25 April 2023.

Introduction

In this guide I'll be listing some of the trams, metros and light rail that are available for Train Simulator.

I'll be including pay- and freeware, and even touch on routes that merely include a small section of tram track aside from the main railway line.

I'll be expanding this guide over time, there is a lot out there and I haven't been able to check it all out yet :)

Updates to this guide

• 25 April 2024: Small edits to GVB Bolkopper (finally it's done!), Highlink, Hamburg U1.
  
• 31 December 2023: Added a section about the U-Bahn Hamburg U1.
  
• 28 December 2023: Ringbahn Berlin is now out of early access.
  
• 17 July 2023: Added mention of Ringbahn Berlin, now in early access.
  
• 23 January 2023: Added mention of TTB's BR 480 which is now in development.
  
• 17 January 2023: Added a link to the newly released U-Bahn Hamburg U1.
  
• 4 May 2022: Small edits, added a link to the Glasgow Subway.
  
• 13 February 2021: Updated BR 481 and Highlink sections. Highlink is gone for now :(
  
• 2 February 2021: Added the BR 481 by TrainTeamBerlin.
  
• 1 February 2021: Added a section about "S25: Mitten durch Berlin / Heart of Berlin"
  
• 4 November 2020: Added mention of "Through the Heart of Berlin", VirtualTracks' new S25 route.
  
• 14 June 2020: Updated S2 Karlsruhe - Spöck
  
• 31 January 2020: Small changes about the S8 stock and Aylesbury line, which are now also on Steam.
  
• 13 January 2020: Added S2 Karlsruhe - Spöck
  
• 25 June 2019: Added link to Metropolitan line (in development).
  
• 5 May 2019: Minor corrections to the text.
  
• 14 April 2019: Link to Blackpool Tram route added.
  
• 12 April 2019: Split the "Things I haven't checked out yet" chapter into freeware, payware and unclear.
  
• 5 April 2019: Added a link to JustTrains' S8 Advanced which was released this week.
  
• 28 March 2019: Updated U2 and Ptb texts to mention scenario incompatibility with Frankfurt U-Bahn II. Added link to freeware Tramway KTM-5.
  
• 6 March 2019: Added the freeware Croydon Tram.
  
• 5 March 2019: Updated the Frankfurt U-Bahn section to it's second version.
  
• 11 December 2018: Expanded and edited Hamburg S1 section.
  
• 7 December 2018: Added Hamburg S1.
  
• 15 November 2018: Added a section about Mighty Seddin Freight.
  
• 11 November 2018: Updated links to Mannheim - Karlsruhe, which is now also in the base game.
  
• 15 September 2018: Added Highlink V6.
  
• 10 August 2018: Added Merseyrail to Liverpool-Manchester and a note about Berlin-Wittenberg.
  
• 8 August 2018: Published first version of the guide.

Sacramento Northern: Suisun Bay - San Francisco (route & vehicles, payware)

There's nothing quite like it. This is an old US interurban service, set in 1939-1940. Some parts of the line are also used for freight traffic, using steeplecab engines and regular railway cars. Passenger service ended in 1940 after which the system was used exclusively for freight. The extensive manual gives a full history and instructions on creating realistic scenarios. The Sacramento Northern is a regional, semi-long distance service with street-running parts. Stations are quite far apart. Passengers board the trains directly from ground level without the use of platforms.

There are four vehicles included, of which two are AI only. Personally I don't think they look and sound too great. Vehicles in the distance are much too loud and the brakes keep squealing even after the train's stopped.

The route features a main station with a turnaround loop. There's a long bridge section where a cab-signalling system is used. After that there's a section where you drive on the streets in between the Key System trams (which are AI only, unfortunately). After that is a curvy and hilly bit of track, and eventually the route becomes relatively straight and flat. The maximum speed can go as high as 80 mph, but the vehicles can only reach 60 mph.

Just like in reality, the vehicles are not equipped with a speed gauge. The cab signalling, where it is used, prevents you from going too fast. For the rest of the route, you'll just have to estimate your speed.

Some parts of the route have a very high speed limit of 80 mph, but those parts may still have curves where you'll exceed passenger comfort at speeds over 40 or 50 mph. It all comes down to the driver to ensure a smooth journey. This makes the route feel very old-fashioned and a little unsafe, I love it.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/376979/Train_Simulator_Sacramento_Northern_Suisun_Bay__San_Francisco_Route_AddOn/

Frankfurt U-Bahn II (route and vehicles, payware)

This is the biggest one that I know of. It includes the entire Frankfurt U-Bahn network, which is pretty big: 9 lines on 65 km of track and 87 stations. On top of that you get three different vehicles to drive, all of which have lots of features including a stop announcement feature.

I've modified this map of the network a little: Black sections are tunnels, and orange squares are depots.

All three different vehicles (U3, U4 and U5) are pretty complex vehicles with lots of buttons to press which do lots of different things. There is a startup procedure, lots of different options for lights including direction indicators and many ways to control the doors. The keyboard mapping is a bit unusual but the manual explains it all.

All trains sound like the real thing, based on what I've heard on Youtube, I've never been to Frankfurt myself. The audio mixing isn't very good. Some sounds are very loud and you can hear the audio looping and change between loops as you hit 40 km/h. The U5 rolling stock has the best sounds in my opinion. The throttle levers have big deadzones which will take some getting used to. There's a subtle click as you move in and out of the deadzone, making HUDless driving possible.

The route also has its own unique ambient sounds, such as birds, traffic and church bells. They're different from the ones found in nearly every DTG route. It's a nice change to hear crows instead of that same loop of blackbird song.

All trains have an IBIS system which you may recognize from the game OMSI 2. It is used to set destination displays and play station announcements. It even automatically changes the destination displays to say "do not board" as you announce the final stop. It's quite complex (but completely optional) and clearly documented in the manual.

The Quick Drive for this route is one of the best I've seen, you can do any journey you want, including runs that start or end at a depot.

This is the only route for Train Simulator that features passengers in wheelchairs, as far as I know.

The Frankfurt U-Bahn is not a traditional street-running tram, but it's what the Germans would call a 'Stadtbahn'. Large vehicles, high platforms, tracks often separated from road traffic, tunnel tracks and maybe a little bit of street running too.

All stations have high platforms. On the U5 line you'll find two street level stops, "Neuer Jüdischer Friedhof" and "Eckenheimer Landstraße/Marbachweg". No trams stop here anymore. In the past, these stations, along with a few others on the U5 line, had no platforms, and were serviced by Düwag Ptb trams which I discuss elsewhere in this guide.

There used to be an older version of this route, which is longer available, hence the "II" in the name. The biggest differences were that the U5 line still had all its street-level stops. And you only got U5 rolling stock, the U3 and U4 were AI-only. There are more minor differences that I won't get into. If you own both the old and the new versions of this route, you can have them installed side-by-side.

If you understand a little German, check out this extremely thorough 4-part fan documentary. I like how the creator has used the Train Sim version of the route to show off areas otherwise inaccessible and invisible to the public.

DRM warning: The installer exe is trying to contact some server and if it fails it won't let you install. If that server ever goes down, you'll be unable to install this addon and there is nothing you can do about it. Antivirus software can also interfere with this DRM system, making it impossible to install.

If you make a backup of your TS install after installing this addon, you should be able to avoid this from ever becoming a problem.

On top of that, there's a limit to how many times you may reinstall if you've formatted your computer or moved to a new system. Some people have reported issues, preventing them from installing their route without customer support intervention.

The route is available directly via publisher JustTrains[www.justtrains.net], via Aerosoft[www.aerosoft.com] or on Steam. https://store.steampowered.com/app/896715/Train_Simulator_Frankfurt_UBahn_Route_AddOn

U-Bahn Hamburg U1 (route and vehicles, payware)

From the same developer as Frankfurt U-Bahn comes the Hamburg U1 line, Germany's longest metro line at 55 km length. The route is mostly overground and surrounded by lots of trees, it feels like a local railway at times. Between Buchenkamp and Grosshansdorf the line is single track. The tunnel sections are in the center of Hamburg, and at Garstedt station. I've marked them in black on this map from the manual:


The company that operates public transport in Hamburg is called Hamburger Hochbahn AG (HHA), which translates to "Hamburg Elevated Railway". And the lines start with a U for Untergrundbahn (underground railway). The HHA also operates buses. It's wonderfully confusing,

Included is the DT5 rolling stock, with elaborate startup procedure, configurable destination indicators and announcements. Most of it is configured via a touch screen in the cab, it's easy to work with, but it's all in German.

In February 2024 the DT4 rolling stock was released in a free update. Players on Steam still haven't received this update a few months later. It will probably be released on Steam eventually, but experience has shown that DTG can take up to a year with updates to third-party content, if they even bother. So maybe buy it from JustTrains directly.

I bought this one on Steam so I couldn't check if the JustTrains version has the same nasty DRM as the U-Bahn Frankfurt.

The route is available directly via publisher JustTrains[www.justtrains.net], via Aerosoft[www.aerosoft.com] or on Steam.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2288624/Train_Simulator_UBahn_Hamburg_U1_Norderstedt_Mitte__Ohlstedt__Grohansdorf_Route_AddOn/

Hamburg S1 (route and vehicles, payware) & BR 474.3 (vehicle, payware)

First I need to explain a few things. Hamburg has both an S-bahn and a U-bahn. Translated that's a "city rail" and an "underground rail". The S-bahn is operated by Deutsche Bahn, and the the U-bahn is operated by a company called "Hamburger Hochbahn", which translates to "elevated rail". It's all wonderfully confusing. Both S- and U-bahn use a third rail but at different voltages. The S-bahn uses larger vehicles and even has some vehicles that have a pantograph so they can run under overhead wires, like the 474.3

The Hamburg S1 for Train Simulator is just that, a single S-bahn line from Hamburg. It includes the third rail powered BR 474 rolling stock, and the 474.3 variant with additional pantograph. The full Hamburg-Lübeck route is included, so you don't need to buy that first.

The S1 route is about 40 km and has 32 stations, of which seven are underground. Here's a copy of the map from the manual:
The section west of Blankenese has some single-tracked parts. Trains always need to change direction at Blankenese station too, which makes things a little more interesting. There's a large yard with a shed for the S-bahn trains at Ohlsdorf. There's another one at Barmbek but that one is for U-bahn trains.

A small section of the route is unmodeled and intended only for AI trains: it's track only, there's no scenery. You can still drive this part if you really want. It's relatively short so I find it odd that no effort was made to completely model it.

Fair enough, the S1 line doesn't serve those stations, but the S11 line does. The S11 line is nearly the same as the S1 line, the main difference being that it uses that AI-only section instead, and doesn't go further west than Blankenese. See this map of all the S-bahn lines in Hamburg[upload.wikimedia.org] for details.

There are two versions of the 474 included with this route; one with pantograph and one without. The rolling stock is of bad quality, even for DTG's usual low standards: it's visually decent but that's where it ends. The windshield wipers are too slow to be useful. There is no way to tell in the cab if the doors are closed. Reviews from people who have been on its real life counterpart complain it sounds nothing like the real thing, and that the acceleration/braking are too low.

The brakes are a bit strange to operate; you have to use a combination of dynamic brake (on the combination throttle/brake lever) and air brake (on a separate lever) to stop the train. I'm not sure if it's realistic that the combination lever doesn't also apply the air brakes, the Stadler Flirt and BR 420 trains have the same lever setup as these trains but the separate airbrake lever is never needed. It is only there for emergencies.

Sometimes when driving the train has incredibly sensitive controls, so it's very easy to put the brakes into emergency without intending to do so. This happens in some scenarios, such as "Touring the S1" and when using Quick Drive. If I create my own scenarios and use the pre-made consists, the controls are fine and not excessively sensitive. There is a community patch[rail-sim.de] available to address the sensitivity, but I haven't tried it yet.

The rolling stock has PZB and SIFA like we're used to for DB rolling stock. The PZB is broken because it's the PZB90 system that's used on the regular railways. On this S-Bahn where the stations and signals are much closer, the PZB65 variant is used instead. But because the rolling stock uses PZB90, the train stays in restricted modes for far too long. I'm often limited to 45 km/h, even after passing a clear signal. I can't press PZB Frei yet because the 1000 Hz light is still on. So I usually drive without PZB on this route. The version with pantograph should be equipped with both PZB90 and PZB65, but you still only get PZB90. You can take this one out onto the regular German mainline tracks and have a functional form of PZB at least.

Conclusion: Get this in a sale. The route is allright, but the rolling stock is bad. And don't forget that the full Hamburg-Lübeck route, complete with its rolling stock like the BR 218, is included!

Do not buy the BR 474.3 that's available separately on Steam. It seems identical to the one included with this route.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/376975/Train_Simulator_Hamburg_S1_SBahn_Route_AddOn/

Pacific Surfliner (route section, payware)

The Pacific Surfliner route includes a section of light rail in San Diego. There's a depot and a few miles of track which mostly follows the railroad mainline.

No vehicles or scenarios are included, so you'll have to provide your own.

The track is completely separated from the roads, and has level crossings.

A prototypical vehicle for this route exists, the Düwag U2 by Railtraction, which includes a version in San Diego's red livery. The overhead wires are too high up for the pantograph to reach, a common visual bug in TS when using European trains on US routes. It doesn't interfere with driving.

In reality, the Düwag's U2 trains were taken out of service in San Diego in 2015.

The Pacific Surfliner route is worth getting because I think it's a wonderful route on its own. This bit of tram line is nice to have, but owning this route is also a requirement for the Petite Terre route.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/222606/Train_Simulator_Pacific_Surfliner_LA__San_Diego_Route/

Mannheim - Karlsruhe (route section, payware)

Contains about 12 km of tram route near Karlsruhe. You'll have to set up your own free roam or scenario for it or use the "S2 Karlsruhe - Spöck" route from the workshop (discussed in its own chapter below).

Tram track is mostly double tracked except for some single track sections. Runs parallel to the railway line for a while. There's even a balloon loop to turn your tram around.

No signals and no speed limits, just a constant 40 km/h for the entire section. You can go faster in most places, although I recommend taking it slower on the switches.

I don't think this is such an interesting route, but the tram track is a cool bonus. Grab it in a sale.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/277768/Train_Simulator_The_Rhine_Railway_Mannheim__Karlsruhe_Route_AddOn/
Mannheim - Karlsruhe is included in the TS2019 distribution, and also in the UK, DE and US edition packages.

• TS2019 base game distribution
  
• TS2019 UK Edition
  
• TS2019 US Edition
  
• TS2019 German Edition

These can't be bought directly on Steam anymore but activation keys are sometimes sold on other sites.

S2 Karlsruhe - Spöck (route, freeware)

On the workshop is a free expansion to the tram tracks that come with the Mannheim-Karlsruhe route. It adds a whole bunch of extra tracks, improved speed limits, signals, Quick Drive, some scenery improvements and much more.

There are two versions of this route.
The old version of the route is on the Steam workshop, and the only payware to make it work is the Mannheim-Karlsruhe route.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1620532747

Apart from a few junctions and turning loops, there is no street running.

The newer version by the same author is available on https://rail-sim.de/forum/wsif/index.php/Entry/6476

It requires:

• Mannheim - Karlsruhe
  
• Frankfurt High Speed
  
• London Waterloo to Portsmouth
  
• U-Bahn Frankfurt 2
  
• Soldier Summit (the dev thinks it might not be needed)
  
• Trainworks Upgrade for Mannheim - Karlsruhe (recommended but not required): http://trainworks.eu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1925
  
• LGV Lyon - Marseille (only for lines 1 and 4)
  
• Hamburg - Lübeck (only for lines 1 and 4)
  
• Hamburg S1 (only for lines 1 and 4)

All of these are on Steam except the Trainworks upgrade, which is a free download.

This version of the route is a work in progress at the time of writing, but includes street running.

S25: Mitten durch Berlin / Heart of Berlin (route and vehicle, payware)

The developer of Berlin - Leipzig teamed up with the Historical S-Bahn[www.hisb.de] organization of Berlin to create this amazing route.

The developer has taken the short stretch of S-bahn track from Berlin - Leipzig and expanded it into a full route, covering the S25 from Teltow to Hennigsdorf and Waidmannslust.

This route is mostly above ground, except for a very twisty tunnel section in the middle. Some of its sections are single tracked with passing loops.

Also included is the BR 476.3 which is incredibly detailed. There is an extensive startup procedure, a "Krüger device" for setting the destination displays, full announcements and radio messages telling you when to close doors and drive away. It is also very difficult to master the 1920's Knorr brake technology, which only lets you do a full release, and takes time to charge up before you can apply brakes again.

The radio messages and announcements are all in German, but included is an instructional video for English-speaking players telling you exactly which phrases to look out for. English manuals are included.

There are 11 scenarios included, and Quick Drive is also available.

If you buy this route directly from the developer, some of the income is donated to the Historical S-Bahn organization to help bring old rolling stock back to life. I don't know if that happens if you buy it directly on Steam. The Steam edition of this route has all brand names removed.

I highly recommend this route, if you're looking for something complex and don't mind reading the manual.

I bought this directly from the developer[www.virtualtracks.eu], so I don't know if the Steam version is any different.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1429756/Train_Simulator_S25_Heart_of_Berlin_Hennigsdorf__Teltow_Route_AddOn/

BR 481 by TrainTeamBerlin (vehicle, payware, 3rd party)

TrainTeamBerlin released this modern piece of Berlin S-Bahn rolling stock in 2020.

I got it because I was really enjoying the S25: Heart of Berlin route and wanted another train to drive on it.

It's a very fancy piece of rolling stock in multiple liveries and with extensive cold-start procedures including an IBIS device handling destination displays and stop announcements.

A really neat thing about this train is the prototypical door closing procedure, where the driver steps onto the platform, warns the passengers, closes the doors, and after verifying everything went without incident, gets back into the cab and drives off.

An in-game tutorial is available, in English, to teach you the basics of driving and doing the door closing procedure.

A small bit of route (about 16 km) is included, which is the same bit of S25 track that you could find in Berlin - Leipzig, but slightly more detailed. According to the manual, it's an early work-in-progress version of the full S25 route. You will need the "European Loco & Asset Pack" for this route to work.

Scenarios are also included, but will only work if you own TrainTeamBerlin's Szenariopack Vol. 1 or Vol. 3. I don't have those so I wasn't able to test them. However this was no big issue as the S25's Quick Drive works fine with this train, including the zp9/zp10 signals found on some stations that tell you when to close the doors. The IBIS announcements also work in Quick Drive, as long as you enter the correct IBIS data as described in the manual.

For more details, check out TrainTeamBerlin's store page[www.trainteamberlin-shop.de]. You can even download the manual before buying by clicking the download tab.

The installer was in German language but if you've manually installed programs on your PC before you can probably figure out what's going on. Be sure to select "Alternatives Tastatur: English" if you play Train Simulator in English, with a QWERTY keyboard. The English language manual assumes you've picked this option.

The installer will detect if you have TrainTeamBerlin's Szenariopack Vol. 1 or Vol. 3 installed, if you don't, it recommends not installing the scenarios since they won't work. But you can choose to install them anyway and use something like RW_Tools to swap the rolling stock with something you do have.

The installer requested a serial code which is provided when you buy it, but there is no online activation DRM.

I can definitely recommend this addon, but if you already own S25: Heart of Berlin route, then the bit of route included with this train has nothing to offer. But as with the S25 route, if you don't want to read a manual, this rolling stock is probably not for you.

Right now, you can only buy this route directly from TrainTeamBerlin's web page[www.trainteamberlin-shop.de].

Berlin - Leipzig or Wittenberg (route sections, payware)

NB: Berlin - Leipzig is the nearly the exact same as the older Berlin - Wittenberg route, except it's longer and continues all the way to Leipzig.

Near Leipzig Hauptbahnhof there are about 5 km of tram tracks, including a depot. There are AI vehicles that are driveable, but there's no cab view.

The tram track is very basic, it's not always clear where the stops are. Sometimes there is no visible overhead wire. You'll have to create your own scenarios to drive here.

Also included is 16 km of S-bahn near Berlin, with 11 stops. Some parts are underground and some on the surface, more or less following the Berlin-Leipzig main line. If you have the Berlin - Wittenberg route, you also have this S-bahn track.

If you want an appropriate driveable vehicle, you can use the freeware BR481[rail-sim.de], or its payware[www.trainteamberlin-shop.de] cousin. You will need to create your own scenarios to drive on the S-bahn.

I think that this is a lovely route on its own, and the S-bahn section is a cool bonus. The tram and tram tracks in Leipzig are very minimal and not really worth it. And obviously do not buy Berlin - Wittenberg, get Berlin - Leipzig instead.

The creator of Berlin-Leipzig has also created Berlin's S25 line[www.virtualtracks.eu], released separately in late 2020. It is complete with rolling stock. It is essentially this bit of S-Bahn track from the Berlin - Leipzig route, but continued further northward to Hennigsdorf.

There is also a very small bit of S-Bahn track near Brandenburg airport. It doesn't have any functional platforms (although they have been modeled at the airport) and is very short. It's slightly more expanded in the Mighty Seddin Freight route (see below).

https://store.steampowered.com/app/376943/Train_Simulator_Berlin__Leipzig_Route_AddOn/

Mighty Seddin Freight (route section, payware)

Mighty Seddin Freight is an expansion for the Berlin-Leipzig route. You need to own Berlin-Leipzig in order to run this route.

It adds a very small stretch of 3rd rail powered S-Bahn track between airports Schönefeld and Brandenburg. Some of the track was already visible in the basic Berlin-Leipzig route, but this expansion also adds a bit more to it.

There still isn't a lot though: you get less than 10 km of track between airports Schönefeld and Brandenburg. There is one intermediate station, Waßmannsdorf, which is just two bare undecorated platforms. The track is fully driveable, with a 100km/h speed limit with a 80 km/h reduction in the curve near Brandenburg.

In real life, Brandenburg airport and its station aren't in use yet. Waßmannsdorf has been built and is slightly more detailed than its in-game counterpart, but it's also not in use yet. Since Brandenburg and Schönefeld airports are so close to each other, Schönefeld will effectively be absorbed into Brandenburg.

I don't think you should get this route for the S-bahn tracks. It's otherwise a decent route, somewhat cheaper than usual and includes the awesome VirtualRailroads BR232, but don't forget that Berlin-Leipzig is a requirement.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/562372/Train_Simulator_Mighty_Seddin_Freight_Route_AddOn/

Petite Terre (route, freeware)

This route is a single-track loop going around a fictional tropical island. There is no street-running, but the stops have no platforms. You can drive the loop in either direction, and there's a short-cut section which skips part of the loop. There are no passing sidings to speak of, though I guess you could use the short-cut section for that.

There's a small depot with a connecting track to the loop.

The download includes the familiar Croydon tram and a patch for it that makes the front window less opaque.

You must own the following payware for this to work:

Hamburg - Hannover http://store.steampowered.com/app/222588/
The Pacific Surfliner http://store.steampowered.com/app/222606/
US & EU assets pack (You probably already own this as it's included with many routes) http://store.steampowered.com/app/208300/

As far as I know, there are no additional freeware assets required, making this an extremely easy freeware route to get to work.

Download: https://www.treinpunt.nl/forum/downloads/?sa=details;lid=6694

Alternative download if you can understand French: http://www.railsim-fr.com/forum/index.php?/files/file/1334-petite-terre-by-zawal/

Düwag Ptb Tram (vehicle, payware, 3rd party)

This is my favourite tram. It's a vehicle that was used on Frankfurt's U5 line, where some of the stops were street level so they couldn't use their regular vehicles. The Ptb has folding steps so this tram can be used with street-level stops as well as high platforms.

The visuals and sounds are pretty good, although the bell can only be heard if you're very close with an external camera. The "zurückbleiben bitte" announcement to close the doors is similarly hard to hear when using an external camera. It comes with some unique cheerful passenger models that I haven't seen elsewhere.

The maximum speed is 70 km/h, which is precisely what you'll need when on the Frankfurt U-Bahn.

Most of the dashboard buttons work, and the door controls are very elaborate. You can select which side to open, whether the folding steps should fold, play an announcement to keep clear and then close the doors manually. Not all doors will open every time, it's randomized which feels more realistic. All these controls do mean there are many hotkeys to learn. And they're somewhat non-standard so it may take some getting used to.

The tram comes in two liveries, turquoise and orange and grey.

To make this addon perfect, I'd like to see a version with a slightly higher top speed (100 km/h) and narrower folding steps. The steps stick out a bit to the side. This was a modification introduced to allow gapless entry on Frankfurt's platforms.

I found it prettyeasy to install, after purchase you get a license code and then you can download a .zip file from the railtraction website. The .zip file contains the manuals and a self-installing exe. The installer will ask you to enter the license code, and will also require you to be connected to the internet.

DRM warning: The installer exe is trying to contact some server and if it fails it won't let you install. If that server ever goes down, you'll be unable to install this addon and there is nothing you can do about it, so buyer beware. If you make a backup of your TS install after installing this addon, you should be able to avoid this from ever becoming a problem.

Buyer beware: This vehicle includes scenarios for U-Bahn Frankfurt v1. The version available on Steam is newer and the scenarios won't work. You'll have to use Quick Drive or make your own scenarios. IBIS stop announcements won't work, but the destination indicators can still be set.

Available for purchase at http://www.railtraction.eu/train-simulator/multiple-units/electric-multiple-units/ptb-tram.html.

Düwag U2 (vehicle, payware, 3rd party)

Another vehicle for use on the Frankfurt U-bahn. I love its old-fashioned 1970'ies appearance.

It has many similarities to the Ptb tram mentioned earlier, so read that first if you haven't already. The sounds are exactly the same. The controls are also pretty much identical. The cabs look very similar too, because the Ptb tram and the U2 were made by the same manufacturer (in real life and in TS).

This vehicle has high doors, so it looks best on routes with high platforms. The German liveries also have two slightly different door hights ("hoch" and "eben") but both are still high enough to require a platform.

Included are three liveries for Frankfurt, and additional ones for San Diego, Edmonton and Calgary. The San Diego liveried vehicle also has had steps added to allow street-level boarding, so it's not purely a reskin. The destination displays and interior cameras still only show Frankurt U-bahn related signage.

The maximum speed is 77 km/h.

There's a bug where the throttle lever becomes stepless when you change cabs.

DRM warning: The installer exe is trying to contact some server and if it fails it won't let you install. If that server ever goes down, you'll be unable to install this addon and there is nothing you can do about it, so buyer beware. If you make a backup of your TS install after installing this addon, you should be able to avoid this from ever becoming a problem.

Buyer beware: This vehicle includes scenarios for U-Bahn Frankfurt v1. The version available on Steam is newer and the scenarios won't work. You'll have to use Quick Drive or make your own scenarios. IBIS stop announcements won't work, but the destination indicators can still be set.

Available for purchase at http://www.railtraction.eu/train-simulator/multiple-units/electric-multiple-units/u2h-u2e.html.

Isle of Wight

Although it's not a metro or light-rail as such, this bit of railway is operated using old London Underground stock, because only those trains are small enough to fit through a tunnel on the line. Reason enough to include it in my list.

It's a pretty old route which means it'll run well on older systems, but is not graphically up to the same standard as the stuff DTG releases today. The sound is also not much to write home about. But it's cheap, and it's even cheaper when on sale.

The route is relatively short, only 8.5 miles, with a 5 mile steam branch.

To make up for that, a lot of rolling stock is included:

• A Class 483 2-car EMU in NSE and London Transport liveries
  
• A little diesel personnel carrier for track maintenance work
  
• A W37 0-4-0ST ‘Invincible’ tank engine. Super tiny and adorable. There are also some passenger coaches to go with it.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/24021/Train_Simulator_Isle_of_Wight_Route_AddOn/

Arosa Line (route & vehicles, payware)

Swiss mountain narrow gauge railways are not trams or metros, but there are plenty of similarities: The trains are a little smaller and lighter, there is some street running (about 2 km). There are even stops on request, either because a light in the cab comes on, or because you spotted passengers waiting on the platform. Some stations have a fancy flashing light telling you to stop.

That's really all there is to it, but I think it's enough to warrant mention in my guide. It's a fun route but if you just want a tram experience, there's only 2 km of it.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/621870/

Liverpool - Manchester (route section, payware)

There is a very short section of Manchester Metrolink track. There are three stops on it. It's not properly electrified so you can only use diesels on it, unless you modify the route.

On the other end of the line, in Liverpool, you will find about 2.5 miles of Merseyrail tracks, Liverpool's urban train system. It is powered by a third rail. There are three stops on it. It's fully signalled and driveable, although you'll have to create your own scenario to use it. The AWS ramps are missing.

I'd say his one is not really worth it for trams or Merseyrail alone.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/258653/Train_Simulator_LiverpoolManchester_Route_AddOn/

Hamburg - Lübeck (route section, payware)

This route includes a few km of S-bahn track with third rail power. There are three stops you can make. Generally speaking, it's only the parts you can see from the railroad mainline and nothing else. You'll have to create your own scenario to use it.

It's so short it's not worth it. According to a reviewer, the Hamburg - Lübeck route is included when you buy the Hamburg S1 S-Bahn route. So if you're only after the S-bahn, don't get this, get the S1 route instead.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/325988/Train_Simulator_HamburgLbeck_Railway_Route_AddOn/

München - Rosenheim (route section, payware)

Although it's technically not a light rail and operated with regular railway stock, this route includes a stretch of railway used by the S-bahn services which passes underneath the München city center. We can pretend it's a metro, the 60 km/h speed limit certainly makes it feel like one. Reviewers claim this limit is lower than in reality though.

The tunnel section lies between Hackerbrücke and Ostbahnhof, has five underground stations and a length of about 5 km.

This is probably the easiest way to get your metro fix if you don't want to touch anything freeware or third-party. It's fully featured with scenarios and quick drive. And since it's fully integrated into the regular railway network, you can keep driving all the way to Rosenheim. However, the tunnel section is very short, and there are some bugs with the PZB safety system which will cause needless emergency stops.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/325959/Train_Simulator_Munich__Rosenheim_Route_AddOn/

Highlink (route, freeware, unavailable)

A large tram/light rail network set in a fictional part of the UK. As far as freeware routes go, only the Butowice route is similarly huge.

This one has a lot to offer: street running, tunnel sections, faster suburban dedicated track sections and even some single track lines. Everything is nicely documented in the manual, including a handy map of the network. High platforms are used at every stop.

Further bonuses are a reskin for the tram that comes with the Frankfurt U-Bahn, and a functional Informator (a stop announcer tool, also included with Frankfurt U-Bahn).

I had some issues with the included scenarios; AI trains derailing and a Quick Drive that incorrectly sent me down the righthand track - in the UK one should keep left. Not too big a deal if you can set up your own scenarios.

This route has quite a few dependencies, but if you have all (or most) of them, you should definitely check this out. A full list will be shown when you start the installer .exe.

For convenience, here's the required payware:

• U-Bahn Frankfurt (this is the only payware not available on Steam)
  
• WCML Trent Valley
  
• London-Brighton
  
• East Coast Mainline South - London-Peterborough.
  
• London-Faversham Kent High Speed.
  
• Riviera Line
  
• European Community Assets
  
• Marketplace Town Scenery Pack
  
• The Isle of Wight

There are some additional freeware assets needed, links to all of them are included in the installer .exe. Some of these files are hosted on UKTS, which requires a free account.

It appears all Gü Studios removed all downloads from their site somewhere before May 2019 (source[www.facebook.com]) and their site went down a few years later. There is no way to download this route at the moment.

Developer Gü Studios was formerly known as Güterbahnhof. Their online presence appears to be gone, but they still exist, having developed the Class 318 together with Armstrong Powerhouse, published in December 2023.

Croydon Tramlink (vehicle, freeware)

I'd say this is the best known tram for Train Sim. It's also free and has been around for a few years.

It's a modern low floor tram so it looks best on routes with street level platforms, or no platforms. It's a bidirectional vehicle with doors on either side. The speed gauge is in km/h, but it's inaccurate at certain speeds by about 5 km/h, so it will indicate 40 when I'm doing 35. Keep this in mind if you're driving HUDless. The top speed is almost 80 km/h.

The sounds are pretty bad. The engine doesn't even make sound until you hit 17 km/h. The creator also admits that they're not authentic as he couldn't find a clear recording without people talking over the sound. Graphically it looks all right from the outside. The cab view is rather ugly. There are two passenger view cameras.


The download comes with a short manual, telling you how to install and use it. No Quick Drive consists are included, but those are easy enough to make yourself.

This tram has countless repaints available. There is also a mod to make the front window less opaque, but it already seemed perfectly clear to me. There is a sound mod available but I haven't tried that yet.

The tram I tested for this article was the 3.0 version hosted on Treinpunt.nl: https://www.treinpunt.nl/forum/downloads/?sa=details;lid=5403

Treinpunt.nl requires a free account before you're allowed to download anything. You can also find this tram on many other Train Simulator modding sites.

This tram is also included with the Black Forest Journeys: Freiburg-Hausach route, but I don't know if that's the 3.0 version or a different one.

Payware I haven't checked out yet

There's a small chance I might give these a look eventually, if there's a good sale.

• Ringbahn Berlin[www.virtualtracks.eu] by VirtualTracks has left early access in December 2023. It's by the same developer who made S25: Mitten durch Berlin / Heart of Berlin. It features the iconic Ringbahn from Berlin, which also includes a bit of drivable regular railway. 40 km of S-bahn and 40 km of regular railways. Includes the BR 483/484 futuristic rolling stock.
  
• BR 480[www.rail-sim.de] rolling stock for the Berlin S-Bahn is currently in development by TTB, the same devs who also brought us the BR 481. Release estimated somewhere in 2023.
  
• Glasgow Subway. It looks pretty neat, but it's very short (10 km). If you want, you can even have the trains run automatically, just like in real life.
  
• The LUL Metropolitan Line[www.justtrains.net] is available at JustTrains. It costs more than normal for a route, and doesn't include any rolling stock. You'll have to buy that separately.
  
• S8 Advanced[www.justtrains.net] by JustTrains. It's intended for use on JustTrains' London-Aylesbury and Chiltern Main Line London-Aylesbury Extension routes. It's now also directly available on Steam, as is the London-Aylesbury line.
  
• S7+1 Advanced[www.justtrains.net] I can't really tell what's different compared to the S8 Advanced. It looks identical.
  
• Black Forest Journeys (route section) - There's a bit of tramline around Freiburg and the freeware Croydon tram is included with this route.
  
• Peninsula Corridor: San Francisco - Gilroy has some portions of VTA's light rail line near Diridon and Taiman stations.
  
• The Phorum Peninsula[railworks.fandom.com] - An old route that includes a bit of tram line, and a tram. It it no longer available for purchase, but has been re-released as the London Transport Heritage Collection. It was made in just 24 hours, so quality-wise, it does seem rushed. But fair enough, it was to support a charity, not for commercial gain.
  
• London Transport Heritage Collection (route, vehicles, payware) - This is the Phorum Peninsula but includes some old DTG rolling stock that's been revamped. The tram and tram line were removed, but the tram tracks can be restored with a workshop mod.

Freeware I haven't checked out yet

• GVB Bolkopper 1-7G[dutchsims.nl] (vehicle) - A classic tram from Amsterdam that I remember from when I was younger.
  
• The Waterloo and City Line[backdatedtrainsim.weebly.com], London's shortest line. I don't have the payware to check this out.
  
• Glasgow Corporation "Coronation Class" Tram pack[backdatedtrainsim.weebly.com], a pack of four repaints for the freeware Blackpool Balloon tram.
  
• Innere Aspangbahn[forum.railworks-austria.at]. In development. Will feature some of the Wiener Lokalbahn too, a light rail service operating round the city of Vienna.
  
• Electro America[railsim-us.wixsite.com] has a bunch of free interurban routes with street running.
  
• Murkenburg[transport-games.ru]. A fictional tram route. Instructions are in Russian.
  
• WCML South[alanthomsonsim.com] includes the entire Bakerloo line, even the underground part that doesn't run alongside the WCML. Also included is a repaint for the '73 stock that comes with the Virtual District Line route. The site works like a webshop and has mandatory registration before you can download, but you don't need to enter any payment data.
  
• Stadtbahn Berlin[rail-sim.de]. Nur auf Deutsch. Have a video.
  
• Blackpool tram route[www.trainsim.com]. Site has mandatory registration before you can download anything.
  
• Butowice - dead link[www.railworks-strefa.pl] (route) - It exists but the download links are dead. There are unofficial download locations.
  
• Kostal Na 105 - dead link[www.railworks-strefa.pl] (vehicle) - This was hosted on the same site as the Butowice route, so no download. There are unofficial download locations.
  
• Tramway KTM-5[www.railunion.net] An old tram from the Soviet Union.
  
• Candlewick[www.uktrainsim.com] (route) - There's a bit of tram line included in this free route. Downloading from UKTS is a pain so I haven't bothered with this one yet.
  
• Blackpool Balloon Trams[www.uktrainsim.com] (vehicle) - Another UKTS hosted one.
  
• Chicago Metropolitan RS[the-train.de] - a "Fictional route based on Chicago Commuter, Interurban, Elevated, Subway, and Streetcar route".
  
• Tatra T3[golden-age-rails.com] (vehicle) - "The model provided in this Train Sim 2014 add-on is an unfinished alpha version of the tram".
  
• PCC Streetcar[railworksamerica.com] (vehicle) - The classic American tram.
  
• Virtual District Line[backdatedtrainsim.weebly.com] (route and rolling stock)
  An actual London Underground Line! "[A] route and rolling stock package covering various parts of the District Line, including branches to Ealing Broadway, Richmond, Gloucester Road, Olympia, Wimbledon and Edgware Road, and a Piccadilly Line taster to Gloucester Road tube." and "rolling stock is included [...] C stock, D stock, 1973 tube stock, battery locomotives and wagons, and a small selection of heritage stock."
  
• Hamburger Hochbahn[trainsimhamburg.de] (route & vehicle) - The other urban railway from Hamburg. It's still in development, but there's a short driveable section, and some unfinished, but equally driveable, rolling stock. Still being worked on as of March 2019. This is a separate project from the payware Hamburg U1 that I described earlier.
  
• Mumpfis Fiktive Tram Strecke[rail-sim.de] (route) - I'll need to hunt down a few assets to make this work. Some of the links are dead, others are undocumented so this one is a real chore to get to work. I've tried before without success.

Mysteries

Stuff that's not entirely clear to me.

• Tramway Toulouse[viellebielles.forumgratuit.org] (route, freeware) - I'm not sure where the download files are on that forum. There are some related files on http://www.railsim-fr.com but not the actual route. This Dutch thread[www.treinpunt.nl] has some info on which files to look for.
  
• Blackpool or Brighton something. I remember a video being posted somewhere that they were doing "research". It was a cab view video of the real tram. But I forgot who posted it or where I saw it. Maybe I'll find it again someday. It may or may not be related to the freeware Blackpool tram route mentioned above.
  
• Zürcher Tram[www.bahnsimulation.ch] (route & vehicle, ???ware) - I'm not sure if this route is finished and available, but the website's been around for years. There's also http://www.jeri.ch/info1.html with lots of screenshots but I haven't found anything to download or purchase.
  
• Blackpool (route, freeware) - I think there's a route that goes with the blackpool trams found on UKTS, but I haven't found a download link yet. Maybe I'm confused with one for MSTS.

Thanks and have fun!

Thanks for reading and have fun.


This text is licensed as Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)[creativecommons.org].


This guide is not licensed for training an AI or to be minted as NFT.

Feel free to link to this guide.

If you have any feedback, additions, corrections, suggestions, etc., please leave a comment below and help make this guide even better.

Finally, I'd like to thank all the people who have helped improve this guide by leaving useful comments.

[Ewo]

@Chauffeurtje Thanks for the heads-up!

[Chauffeurtje]

The Amsterdam GVB 1-7G Bolkoppen package has been released.
https://dutchsims.nl/viewtopic.php?t=3224

[typowski]

Does anyone know where i can find a download for the Butowice map?

[Ewo]

Thanks, I've added it to the guide.

[fender130173]

Waterloo & City Line (The Drain) Out Now!

https://backdatedtrainsim.weebly.com/waterloo--city-line.html

[Aikido]

This is an awesome list. You successfully sold me not only the Sacramento Northern, but the Train Sim Classic game as a whole. I'm definitely here for vintage trams. And now I see there are a ton of them on modding sites as freeware as well. Thank-you!

[Ewo]

Ah cool it's out now. Thanks for letting me know. I might check it out if it goes on sale in the future.

[SgtBruhSt1ck]

Heres the link https://www.justtrains.net/product/u-bahn-hamburg-u1

[SgtBruhSt1ck]

Its only Line U1 but it has 2 branches and is 55km in total. Only one type of rolling stock for now but will have a free future update with another drivable train

[SgtBruhSt1ck]

Hamburg Hochbahn has been released recently on JustTrains, you should check it out