laughs
Also, for those interested, below is a time comparison list between Prominence underground station and Arborfield station:
Legal driving: ~3 minutes
Illegal driving: ~1 minute 30 seconds
Ideal train: ~1 minute 40 seconds
Realistic train: ~3 minutes
(realistic train is 15 seconds per station and waiting at RR crossings for full closure of arms)
This means that the train could very well be a proper transportation service.
spicy
PREPARE FOR UPDATE POST!!!
The v3 train line has been extended from Greendale to Redwood, nearly completing the entire loop.
(area marked in red)
The previously ‘floating’ track section with a visible siding have been renovated to approximately follow the terrain’s height and to make the passing loop/main line operable through the usage of switches:
The terrain along the line and on the bridge has been altered to make it smoother and more realistic.
All railroad crossings in Greendale are operable – and this station in-between definitely doesn’t make the pre-empting easy with all 3 of them in close vicinity!
After Greendale, it returns to double-track (with an operable switch) and enters a new tunnel which runs alongside the FS98 tunnel (although separated).
The line then continues into Redwood – the most prominent station yet, and the confirmed terminus for all services operating in the loop. The station is on and along Redwood Street.
Additionally, the new terminal is host to a bus stop and an overhead pedestrian walkway/crosswalk to provide transport and safe traversing of the tracks.
The line continues up until past the 401 – where it simply goes thereunder – and ends within the viewing distance of the FIA station. I initially expected the FIA station to be the terminus for the loop – as it seemed disproportionately long and is quite literally at what seemed like the main transportation hub of v3 – however, it does seem logical for it to be in Redwood (a big, but not biggest, city). It is also important to remember that a terminus does not necessarily equate to the most important station.
One additional thing to keep in mind is that the switches, track technology, train, and all railroad crossings are merely placeholders or work-in-progress tools. Obviously, the train is not very stable and will not be like this in Alpha or the final release. I also hope I don’t see anyone commenting ‘the red circle on the switches should be inverted’ – yes, you are right, but obviously these temporary switches won’t be permanent. I am assuming there will either be automatic switching, dispatcher-controlled switching, or – where a dispatcher is absent – control-based (from the cab) switching.
Yes, I think Atlantic knows very well that the railroad crossings are not operating perfectly. Just chill out and appreciate how it all looks.
I wish I was still in DoT so I can rejoin…
hopefully later this month I’ll rejoin DoT you know B))
The full loop has been completed all around the island!
However, it has not been patched up yet and is very buggy.
Therefore, it is currently not yet possible to completely traverse the loop.
Tunnel between FIA and Prominence underground train station COMPLETE!
You are now able to make a complete loop (if you’re careful at the glitchy FIA switches)!
That’s Greendale, not Arborfield.
Yup, sorry about that. Still get confused by all these v3 towns/cities.
Full Loop:
Ideal Train = ~5 minutes 45 seconds
Realistic Train = ~8 minutes 55 seconds
(15 seconds stopping at stations, realistic speeds, waiting for RRs to close) (excludes FIA station)
Illegal Driving = ~5 minutes 5 seconds
Legal Driving = ~8 minutes 20 seconds
(no speed limits and no other traffic for the legal driving!)
Not looking so good… But remember that there will be speed limits and lots of other people ramming into you, so the legal driving may be more. However, this is unrealistic, as no one will drive around in a full loop.
Let’s look at the people who may actually practically benefit from the train. Until this point, we have mainly been talking about the train as a nice asset or as something which is realistic. But is it actually usable?
Departmental employees in v3 will have to go to their workplace every time they want to go on-duty. So this is the target audience for the train and buses. We have no idea how the buses will work, so we will only think about the train, walking, and using a car.
For now, we will pretend that the Prominence spawning point is the only spawning point. We know that there will be multiple, but for this investigation we will only use Prominence.
Prominence Spawn -> Prominence CD (getting in car) = ~1 minute 20 seconds
(half running, half walking to simulate stamina)
Prominence Spawn -> Prominence Underground Station = ~1 minute 15 seconds
(excludes actually waiting for a train)
We will first off immediately strike down all the departments situated in Prominence, as it is impractical and impossible to get there via train:
SCFD Station 1 = ~1 minute (on foot (walk-able from spawn))
SCSO = ~1 minute 55 seconds (legal driving)
DHS = ~2 minutes 50 seconds (legal driving)
FSP = ~3 minutes 5 seconds (legal driving)
FNG = ~3 minutes 10 seconds (legal driving)
I assume that the Prominence bus depot will not be a place to go on-duty.
Now let’s go to the ones which actually matter:
FIA = ~3 minutes 20 seconds (legal driving)
FIA = ~2 minutes 25 seconds (realistic train)
DOT = ~3 minutes 50 seconds (legal driving)
DOT = ~4 minutes 50 seconds (realistic train)
SCSO GD = ~3 minutes 45 seconds (legal driving)
SCSO GD = ~4 minutes 57 seconds (realistic train)
…
These are only a few of the departmental destinations. They’re not necessarily effective, but they are pretty close to make driving less appealing than taking the train.
Of course, trains won’t be running 24/7 and they may be a luxury, but if they are running, then they could be pretty effective.
Another target audience for practical usage of the train is business employees who may not be able to afford vehicles. Perhaps there will be DMV licensing in v3, which will make the train a lot more appealing for those without driver’s licenses.
The FRA (Firestone Railroad Administration) will start its operations in the upcoming week – this does not mean that applications for it will open per se. The FRA is under the Department of Transportation. Applications for DOT closed just recently, so it will be a while till you can attempt to join DOT.
Note: It is very likely that you will require multiple months of experience in DOT before you can even be considered for FRA, so don’t expect you to be put in FRA if you just joined DOT.
On another note, with the release of v3 Alpha, not much has changed on the railroad.
The train is not yet team-locked and the switches are operable by everyone as well, so drive the train while you still can!
The loop is not fully traversable – this is NOT because of the track glitch at FIA, but rather due to the terrain glitch in the tunnel between Prominence underground station and FIA.
The broken tracks between the long tunnel and the FIA station are broken on only one side. You can utilize the cross-switch to move over to the left and traverse the line; however, you will pump straight into a terrain glitch in the tunnel which is not passable.
If you are interested, you can get v3 Alpha right now for 250 ROBUX (using the gamepass in the store).
You really do like trains
yes i do
Welcome back mate. I hope you find your place here in Firestone! 
The Firestone Railroad Administration (FRA) – which is a subdivision of the Department of Transportation – has started up recently; its Director is @Motor_Law!
If you would like to be involved with the FRA in the near future, I suggest you apply to DOT when applications open.
