In this article we’ll dive deep into the WCML South’s timetable, outline all the trains you’ll get and opportunities for layering from other Train Sim World Add-ons.
We’ll also take a look at a brand-new mode of gameplay in Conductor Mode!
TSW5: Dev Diaries: Episode 1
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Before we jump into the West Coast Main Line action, take a look at the first of our three Development Diaries, where we hear from the team about how they bring features, trains and routes into Train Sim World.
In Episode 1, we hear more about the recording trip Adam and the team took to Los Angeles in 2023 as well as from Matt and Chris about bringing some of Train Sim World 5's highly-requested new features to players for the first time.
The Route: West Coast Main Line South: London Euston – Milton Keynes
Train Sim World has gone from East to West! Following on from the inclusion of a stretch of the East Coast Main Line in Train Sim World 4, this time we’ve moved over to the equally impressive, historic and intensive West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Milton Keynes.
This arterial route connecting some of Britain’s major cities to London has seen plenty of action from its initial opening through to today’s services, with numerous amendments and redevelopments of stations along the way, as well as the ever-changing rolling stock that use it.
It’s existence is formed from a number of different railway lines that were built and then merged during the mid-19th century. 100 years later between the 1950s and 1970s, the route was modernised and electrified to accommodate more advanced rolling stock, including some of the first tilting trains to operate in the UK. This technology eventually saw the introduction of Pendolino trains in 2002.
At its southern end, London Euston adds yet another London terminus to Train Sim World. This important station has itself seen major changes throughout its history and like other stations in the capital sees the main line railway mix with the flow of Underground and Overground passengers. It plays host to over 30 million passengers a year.
Players with previous route Add-ons featuring London termini will be able to use Train Sim World 5’s new Route Hopping feature to ‘hop’ between them.
The routes where this is possible include:
- Southeastern Highspeed (St Pancras International)
- London Underground Bakerloo Line (Paddington)
- London Commuter (Victoria)
- Great Western Express (Paddington)
Bakerloo Line players will also be able to Route Hop between Queens Park and Harrow & Wealdstone, which are stations shared across both routes.
We’ll talk more extensively about Route Hopping, including all of the possible ‘hopping’ locations across all routes, in next week’s USA focussed article.
Beyond London, many stations within the Greater London area exist to accommodate the local and regional services heading out of Euston, before heading further north to towns that were massively impacted by the arrival of the railways. On the horizon landmarks like the BT Tower and Alexandra Road Estate will be seen.
The Wembley area sees many of the different types of railway lines meet, all overlooked by the iconic Wembley Stadium to the north. Nearby Wembley Central and Stonebridge Park play host to Underground and Overground services (the latter playable for owners of the Suffragette line route Add-on) and Wembley Yard stables rolling stock ranging from long freight trains to Class 390 Pendolinos.
Between Cheddington and Leighton Buzzard is the inconspicuous Bridgego Bridge (sometimes referred to as Mentmore Bridge) which infamously became the location of the Great Train Robbery in 1963.
At the northern end of the in-game route is Milton Keynes Central, where passengers are introduced to one of the Britain’s post-war ‘New Towns’ that in real life features a rare American grid system of roads and a fresh, contemporary take on the British suburban lifestyle.
The Trains
A fleet of trains both new to Train Sim World 5 and those seen in previous Train Sim World routes are included in the West Coast Main Line route, with Deluxe Edition players also being able to operate the sleek and modern Avanti West Coast Pendolino.
New to Train Sim World is the Class 350 EMU, adding yet another member of the larger Desiro family of trains to the game. First introduced in 2005, these trains operate various services from Euston either beyond the map to locations such as Northampton and Birmingham or to stations within the confines of the route such as Tring or Milton Keynes Central.
Though not enabled for third-rail use, these units can be adapted to work via this method. On all WCML services they are operated with overhead AC electric power.
Guard controls are available through the train, enabling easy access for players utilising Train Sim World 5’s Conductor Mode in service mode! We’ll explain more about this feature further down.
The Class 350 will also make use of the Digital Display Enhancements. Interactive screens have become increasingly common on newer trains being introduced into Train Sim World making their ease of use vital to the gameplay experience. Players will be able to zoom into the display by clicking on it, located awkwardly in the top-right of the cab, and interact with the options such as lighting and view important information like Braking and Driving Force.
Both speed and brake pressure are measured using traditional manual gauges.
Avanti West Coast Class 390 Pendolino EMU
Deluxe / Special Edition only
Running regional, high-speed services throughout the WCML is the much-requested, sleek, tilting marvel that is the Class 390 Pendolino. Born from the innovative tilting technology of ground-breaking test trains, these modern units have long been seen powering their way out of London and down to Britain’s key towns and cities in the Midlands, North and all the way to Scotland.
Avanti West Coast, a new operator in Train Sim World, are the current custodians of these iconic trains, which are available for players of Deluxe and Special Editions of Train Sim World 5. Additional services will bulk out the platforms of London Euston amongst the Class 350s and give players a totally different experience passing through many of the intermediate stations at high speed.
The trains will come in both 9 and 11-car formations and will also make use of the Digital Display Enhancements to better view the screen located bottom-left of the driver’s desk. Like the Class 350, both speed and brake pressure are measured using manual gauges.
The Class 390 also comes equipped with Tilt Authorisation and Speed Supervision (or TASS) which is a system unique to the West Coast Main Line. This system monitors the speed of tilting trains and allows them to travel slightly faster than non-tilting trains on certain sections of track.
Accompanying this are the EPS boards mentioned in the August Roadmap. They show speeds that apply only to trains with tilting enabled.
Southern Class 377/2 EMU
Also included in the West Coast Main Line route are Class 377/2 units operated by Southern. Unlike their contemporaries found on the previous London Commuter route Add-on, these utilise overhead AC electric for power and can be switched to third-rail for use on other areas of the national network.
The Class 377/2 is included in Train Sim World 5’s West Coast Main Line route. Players do not need to own previously released content to access this train.
DB Cargo Class 66 Diesel Locomotive
For a change of traction to something bigger and noisier, the ubiquitous Class 66 is included and operates a series of freight services. Though this locomotive has not changed much beyond improvements made from previous Train Sim World Add-ons, it does come in a new variation of livery: DB Cargo adding a red flavour to the trains pallette on what it otherwise dominated by green shades of EMU!
The DB Cargo Class 66 locomotive is included in Train Sim World 5’s West Coast Main Line route. Players do not need to own previously released content to access this train.
London Underground 1972 Mark 2 Stock
An important aspect of the West Coast Main Line is its parallel running with a 7-mile stretch of the above-ground London Underground Bakerloo Line including stations at Queens Park and Harrow & Wealdstone.
The London Underground 1972 Mark 2 Stock is included in the route, allowing players to play along a short stretch of the Bakerloo, even if they don’t own any previous content. This provides a unique opportunity to drive trains with very different styles along the same route and adds more in-game traffic to what is one of the busiest stretches of line in the country.
These trains will have updated lighting and rain effects for their use on this route.
The London Underground 1972 Mark 2 Stock is included in Train Sim World 5’s West Coast Main Line route. Players do not need to own previously released content to access this train.
Timetable, Layers, Scenarios & Gameplay
With so many trains operating many different styles of services and stopping patterns, a robust timetable has been created reflecting the amount of traffic that this busy stretch of the West Coast Main Line receives. As we mentioned in our Roadmap article, this has been one of the more complex areas of development, with so many trains interacting with one another from a signalling and pathing point of view.
The types of service available to operate in service mode include:
- Limited-stop Class 350 services to the likes of Crewe, Rugby, Birmingham New Street and Northampton (all ending in-game at Milton Keynes)
- All-stop Class 350 services to Bletchley, Tring and Milton Keynes Central
- Class 350 ECS movements between Bletchley sidings and either Tring, Bletchley or London Euston, as well as between Camden sidings and London Euston.
- London Underground Bakerloo Line services between Harrow & Wealdstone and Queens Park, as well as some ECS moves at Stonebridge Park.
- Class 66 freight services. These arrive from off the map using the Willesden relief lines and are then playable until they reach Milton Keynes. These are all formed of intermodal trains.
Note: Freight services will not be available for players of 8th Generation Consoles (PlayStation 4 & Xbox One).
Additional Service Layers include:
- Avanti West Coast Class 390 Pendolino services for Deluxe / Special Edition players: to Glasgow Central, Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool Lime Street, Wolverhampton and Birmingham New Street (all ending in-game at Milton Keynes)
- Class 390 ECS movements between Wembley sidings and London Euston
- Class 710 London Overground services (for players that own the Suffragette line Add-on) along the entire length of the Lioness line from London Euston to Watford Junction.
- Class 710 ECS movements between Willesden Yard and London Euston / Watford Junction.
Pendolino services that do not stop at Milton Keynes will be included in the timetable as AI services.
AI Layers for Cathcart Circle Line route Add-on
Train Sim World 5 players that own the recently Remastered Cathcart Circle Line and the Class 380 EMU Add-ons (which contains its new timetable) will see layered in Class 350 EMUs at Glasgow Central to represent a time that these trains were leased for use there.
The Avanti West Coast Class 390 Pendolino will also appear for players that own Deluxe / Special Edition or the loco Add-on that will release on launch day.
These Cathcart Circle Line layers for the Class 380 timetable are all AI services.
NEW Feature: Conductor Mode (Guard Mode)
New to Train Sim World 5 is the full Conductor Mode feature, which for the benefit of British players of British routes we may occasionally refer to as Guard Mode.
This brand-new way to play in timetable service mode has stemmed from feedback on our Guard / Conductor Scenarios introduced into the previous Glossop Line and LIRR Commuter route Add-ons, which became some of the most-played Scenarios ever in Train Sim World.
From the Main Menu, players will be allowed to select ‘Guard’ as a playable mode, whereby the train is driven by the AI and the tasks required relate to those representative of a member of train crew across selected trains on the route.
Players will be able to stand in the Conductor / Guard position by any of the doors with a Guard’s Panel and operate the controls to open and close doors, notify the driver / engineer that all is clear as well as check passengers’ tickets and clear the aisles of intrusive baggage.
On West Coast Main Line, this includes using the Guard’s Buzzer on both the Class 350 and Class 390 to notify the driver when ready to depart.
Similar tasks are in place for Conductor Mode on both San Bernardino Line and Frankfurt – Fulda. On San Bernardino Line, notifying the engineer comes in the form of blowing a whistle which is done by pressing the horn key / button.
In West Coast Main Line, Guard Mode is available on the Class 350.
Coaches on San Bernardino Line will have Conductor Mode available, as will the BR 114 + Dostos sets in Frankfurt – Fulda.
We’re also exploring opportunities for implementation on other routes, including those announced for future release and will provide further information in a future update.
Scenarios & Gameplay
There will be a total of 8 Scenarios available to play on West Coast Main Line. 5 of these involve the Class 350, with 3 available for players with the Avanti West Coast Class 390 Pendolino Add-on included in both Deluxe and Special Editions of Train Sim World 5.
The Class 350 Scenarios are:
- Service Savior, where you’re required to step in to drive the 350 in the absence of a driver.
- Football Frenzy, involving the movement of passengers from the Wembley area
- Back in Service, requiring a coupling procedure to another Class 350 unit
- Heavy Traffic, an ECS service
- Carriage Collector, a service involving movement in a depot
The Class 390 Pendolino Scenarios are:
- Refreshing Refurb, an ECS service
- Watford Bypass, which required your service to be diverted along slow lines
- Pend-No-Lean-No (...), which involves a service with the TASS disabled
There’ll be a series of collectibles to go and hunt down across the route, including defibrillators and posters. On top of that, there are some little delivery bots that seem to have lost their way! These can sometimes be seen roaming the streets of Milton Keynes in real life, but may have snuck onto station platforms in Train Sim World for players to find!
Players might also find some Dovetail FC football scarves to pick up that have been discarded by Wembley-goers!
Mastery Challenges require you to perform certain tasks on a route, like completing certain Scenarios or travelling a certain number of miles in a specific locomotive. Tier 1 Challenges unlock Decals for use in Livery Designer. Tier 2 Challenges unlock toggleable Scenery Tiles.
The key art for West Coast Main Line (as shown earlier in this article), featuring the Class 377 and 350 EMUs, has some bovine railfans observing the trains as they mooo-ve along the tracks. The unlockable Tier 2 Mastery Tile for this route also features these friendly field-dwellers at Milton Keynes but not in the form you might expect!
Livestream: West Coast Main Line Route Preview
You can view a preview of the West Coast Main Line, featuring both the Class 350 and Avanti West Coast Class 390 Pendolino on Thursday 29th August with the Railfan TV team from 1800 UTC on YouTube and Twitch.
Train Sim World 5: Standard Edition = £39.99/€44.99/$49.99
Train Sim World 5: Deluxe Edition = £59.99/€74.99/$74.99
Train Sim World 5: Special Edition = £104.99/€119.99/$119.99
Find out more about Train Sim World 4 by following @trainsimworld on X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch and TikTok.
