Train Sim World
Spoorlijn Zwolle – Groningen: Coming Soon!
New trains, new systems and a new country to explore. Spoorlijn Zwolle – Groningen is coming to Train Sim World on 25th March!
The Story So Far
The last of the new routes in 2024’s DTG Direct ‘Take A Ticket’ segment is almost here. We’ve talked a bit about the development of Zwolle - Groningen over the last few months and you can catch up to where we are below.
So far we’ve covered:
- Basic details during the DTG Direct ‘Take A Ticket’ segment
- Additional screenshots in our 18th December Reveal
- First screenshots of the cab in the February Roadmap
The release of Spoorlijn Zwolle – Groningen forms part of our Springtime Sprint, with other releases, sales and preview streams taking place throughout the rest of March!
Spoorlijn Zwolle – Groningen
Goedemiddag! Spoorlijn Zwolle – Groningen marks the first Dutch route to arrive in Train Sim World! With two brand-new trains and a new operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen, there’s plenty to see, do and learn for both new and veteran TSW players.
The Route: Zwolle – Groningen
The Netherlands sit against the coastline bordered by Belgium to the south and Germany to east. Players familiar with the German Bremen – Oldenburg route will note that Groningen is just over 100km from Oldenburg, yet there is much to separate the respective railways operated between the two nations.
The route covers 107km between the cities of Zwolle, in the province of Overijssel, and Groningen in the province of Groningen, the ‘capital of the North’.
The line between Zwolle and Groningen owes its lineage to the State Railways Construction Act of 1860, which would see the construction of the Netherlands’ first three major State-owned railway routes, linking key large towns and cities. Zwolle - Meppel was built as part of Line A, with Line C branching off at Meppel to continue towards Groningen via Assen. By 1870, the connection between Zwolle and Groningen was complete.
With the advance of time, the route has been periodically upgraded, not least of all in the 1970s with rebuilt stations and 1.5 kV overhead electrification, the standard for Dutch railways. As of November 2023, the line through Hoogeveen station has been widened and realigned to increase the speed of intercity services.
Zwolle Station, at the southern end of the route, was designed by Nicolaas Kamperdijk and built by the Rijkswaterstaat in 1866. It is one of two Staatsspoorwegen first-class Waterstaat stations in the country, awarded first class for its size. In 2023, the station served over 44,000 passengers. The station has a bike shed with spaces for 5,800 bicycles, one of the largest in the Netherlands!
Bicycles are of course a huge part of Dutch culture and transportation. Cyclists can therefore be seen as occasional traffic throughout the route.
Along the rest of the route, players will pass through the 6 intermediate stations, adorned with NS signage in the Dutch language and unique PIS as well as the unique trackside signage that will inform drivers of how to operate their trains along the route.
OHLE & Friends
One key difference with Dutch OHLE is that it runs at 1.5kV DC, rather than the typical 15 or 25kV AC common across Germany. The lower DC voltages, combined with the speeds trains run at, generates much higher amperage than on typical OHLE, and the way the design compensates for this is by running double contact wires, increasing the surface area with the pantograph. This detail is represented throughout the length of the route.
Lastly, watch one of the many fantastic and insightful cab ride videos of the route in reality and there is an undeniable detail making a home on Dutch routes – bird nests! Storks are a protected species in the Netherlands, having nearly died out in the mid-20th century, but conservation efforts have thankfully kept this from happening. Perhaps what people wouldn’t expect though, is with their resurgence in the wake of mass electrification, Storks have taken it upon themselves to frequently nest atop the gantries of the NS railway network! As you drive throughout the route, take a moment to peek above the horizon and see nests scattered across the route.
The Trains
ICMm Koploper
Operating intercity trains with its uniquely styled ‘cockpit’ is the ICMm ‘Koploper’. In 1977 the original 7 prototypes were run (none survive today). The first unit (4011) was then delivered for regular service in 1983.
The ICM received the nickname Koploper, because it had what's called a "walk-through head". The unique design of the ICM has their cabs located on the roof, which initially allowed through gangways between coupled sets. Refurbishments of the sets between 2006 and 2011 removed these gangways as they were deemed unreliable. With a designed top speed of 160 km/h, this train runs service speeds limited to 140 km/h but were run and tested to 180km/h during development.
Prototypes of the ICM were built and tested in 1976-77, with the first train sets coming into service in 1977. It has become an iconic train for NS, servicing many intercity services to this day.
The cab has a central driving position, elevated high above the track! The speed indictor runs lengthways across from left to right, much like that of older American cars, with a shaded bar indicating the current speed. Independent handles are used for the brakes and power.
SNG Sprinter
Also included is the SNG ‘Sprinter’ EMU. The Sprinter New Generation trainsets are part of the CAF Civity family of regional passenger trains and were introduced to replace older push-pull locomotive hauled services.
In March 2015, NS allowed travellers and staff to choose possible interiors. Interested parties could choose from three interiors, with seats for the first and second class, and folding seats. The results have been an important factor in the interior choices of the new Sprinters.
Initially, the SNG trains had a dark blue front. While this colour met EU standards, the combination of the dark colour and large window made it difficult to see the train at level crossings. NS would repaint 150 trains it already had, while new trains would be delivered with the new yellow colour.
Gameplay, signalling and timetable
With a new country and new trains comes, of course, new gameplay and even experienced players of Train Sim World may require some assistance when learning some of the details associated with Dutch railway operations.
ATB Safety System
More experienced players will no doubt want to get to grips with the ATB safety system (Automatische TreinBeïnvloeding or ‘Automatic train control’), available to use on both trains. A dedicated tutorial exists for this system.
There are two types of ATB:
ATB-Eg or 'First generation' covers the signal pulse codes and cab speed enforcement.
ATB-Vv or 'Improved version' includes track equipment installed at select Stop signals, which provide increased protection.
The ATB system consists of two parts; one within the track and signal infrastructure to generate pulse codes, the other onboard the train to interpret and enforce speed restrictions.
We have included further details of the ATB safety system in a dedicated article. This includes information that features in the dedicated ATB safety system tutorial.
Signalling and Infrastructure
Powering the new ATB system is of course, a whole new set of signals to TSW, the Dutch colour light system. In many respects, they look exactly as one would expect modern signals to look, able to display green, yellow and red aspects, with absolute, distant and ground variants. Different aspects correspond to different ATB speeds, and speed reductions can also be accompanied with a lighted theatre that can display routing and additional speed information.
Should you wish to drive with ATB turned off, you can comfortably follow the colour lights, as per most routes in TSW, either by looking ahead or by using the HUD/track monitor.
Also aiding your way along the Dutch countryside is bespoke signs to look out for:
On most routes, it is purely up to driver knowledge and discretion how they brake for an upcoming station, and the same will always be true in adverse conditions, but a handy sign exists called a Verkenbord that advises drivers when they should start braking to comfortably make a stop from line speed.
Once approaching a station, look out for the stop markers distributed along the platform. These are measured using car lengths similar to those of the ICM, so the maths is straightforward, driving a 6-car Koploper? Stop at the 6-car or next highest available marker. The SNG is shorter per-car than the ICM, so a 6-car Sprinter would need to stop at the 5-car marker.
Timetable and Scenarios
A varied timetable accommodates both new trains with both express and local services running along the length of the route. There is a total of 339 playable services.
ICMm services will run between Zwolle – Meppel and the full length limited-stop between Zwolle – Groningen. On average each of these patterns is half-hourly in each direction. Some of these services will have Conductor Mode available.
SNG3 services will run Zwolle to Groningen (stopping), Meppel to Zwolle and Assen to Groningen. These patterns run half-hourly on average, with the Assen – Groningen services only running in the morning and afternoon rush hour. Like the ICMm, a selection of services will have Conductor Mode.
At Zwolle, AI services run by both trains will go in and out of the map representing trains serving out-of-map locations.
At Groningen, coupling procedures will take place to make double units and similarly uncoupling to split services up. There will also be playable ECS / Depot movements at Groningen Europapark and at Onnen.
Including ECS moves, the ICMm has over 150 services, and the SNG3 has over 170 services.
Additional Services layers
A selection of static, AI and a handful of playable services will be available for players that own other Train Sim World Add-ons.
The two playable freight services are operated by the DB BR 193 Vectron from Frankfurt-Fulda, hauling Zacns stock from Dresden-Riesa on what is an otherwise a relatively freight-free corridor.
A small number of short G6 shunting moves will unlock with the G6 loco Add-on.
Falns wagons from the BR 155 Add-on will appear as static stock.
The Add-ons required to unlock the full list of layers are:
- DB G6 Shunter loco Add-on
- Dresden-Riesa
- Frankfurt-Fulda
- BR 155 loco Add-on
- Ruhr Sieg Nord
- Rhein-Ruhr Osten
The full timetable including additional services layers, will be available across all platforms (including 8th Generation Consoles).
A Familiar Ride with a Free Update to the DB Vectron
In our March Roadmap we revealed that an update is coming to the DB BR 193 Vectron from Frankfurt – Fulda to support Dutch signalling, screen updates, both English/Dutch speaking sounds, as well as the ATB safety system, which should hopefully give owners of the add-on a familiar loco to ride as you discover the Netherlands.
These changes have been made by Foobian, a name that may be familiar to some people in the community, and will be coming to players in a free patch.
Foobian: “My favourite part of recreating railways in Train Sim World is building everything that’s on a screen – be it PIS or cab displays. So, when an opportunity came up to update the DB Vectron in my free time for the release of Zwolle - Groningen, I jumped at the chance!”
Players can look forward to the following changes:
- Implementation of the Dutch ATB safety system
- Ability to change the display and voice output language between German, English and Dutch
- Corrected cab layout for a Vectron with software “E1” such as the DB Vectron
- Visual tweaks to all existing screens
- New “Brake Status” sub-page on the right-hand screen
- Ability to teleport through the engine room
“These changes would not have been possible without the excellent help from real-world drivers and technicians within the beta team. A big thanks goes out to them!”
Please note that you will have to lower the pantograph and manually switch over to the ‘NL 1.5kV’ system when you enter the cab of the Vectron on Zwolle - Groningen to be able to move the Vectron and use ATB. AI trains currently do not change this setting and thus drive with the incorrect pantograph raised.
Scenarios
Also included are a selection of Scenarios that feature situations such as failed trains for recovery, wrong-line running and the replacement of an IC train with the SNG3.
There’s also collectibles to find and route tasks to perform:
- Place Route maps
- Repair Model windmills
- Stand-up fallen bicycles
- Clearing fallen tree stumps
Train Sim World 5: Spoorlijn Zwolle – Groningen route Add-on will release on 25th March for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Epic Games Store, and Steam for €39.99/£32.99/$44.99
For anyone yet to have upgraded to Train Sim World 5, there will also be the Train Sim World® 5: Dutch Regional Edition available on all of the above platforms for €39.99/£34.99*/$44.99
*Note: on Steam the UK price will be £32.99
Find out more about Train Sim World 5 by following @trainsimworld on Twitter/X, Bluesky, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok.
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