Railway Signalling and Signals in Railway Empire

The signalling system in the game Railway Empire, will allow you to control the growing network of railway lines and allow the movement of many trains on the same sections. If you have played similar titles, such as Transport Tycoon, Train/Transport Fever or Mashinky, then the rules of signalling in this game are practically the same. However, there is one important detail to be mentioned.

• No matter the circumstances, there will never be a train crash!
• Signals in practice

No matter the circumstances, there will never be a train crash!

The game is designed so that the trains will not move from the station or enter a track, where a collision could occur. The system is very cleverly designed, and makes the trains and signals "think ahead", in order not to allow dangerous situations. On the other hand, you do not have to place signals densely, because the trains themselves can find secure connections. They need a minimum amount of signalling that will give them a free and safe railway path.

Blocks are sections of track where the train can travel without any obstacles. Each signal, tower or station divides the track. If you set only one entry signal, the block will be long (1). Only one train will travel throughout this entire section. When you put up several signals, the blocks will be shorter and more trains will be able to travel on one route (2).

1. Semaphores (signals) divide routes into so-called blocks. Each train can move freely in such a block until it reaches the point that separates it, usually another signalling device. Only one train can be travelling within one block. Others will wait until another block/section frees up so that the train can keep going, e.g. the train will leave the station or pass the next signal. Building signals thoughtfully will allow you to divide the route into many blocks. This way, more trains can travel on the same route without long stops.
2. In Railway Empire, unlike in other games, trains and signalling tend to "think ahead". In other games, the train considers every eventuality and doesn't enter the track (if the block is not free), although there is no danger to the train. In Railway Empire, the trains will enter the track if there is no train in front of them, although there may be a different train in the block. If another train would enter during this time, the train would stop and there would be no collision.

Instead of putting up signals, you can use towers and stations when dealing with simple connections. The two lines to the left are connected, but the supply tower (1) is located in front of the connection. This way the trains will resupply, and the signalling will allow access to the station. These are short routes, so the location of the tower doesn't matter much. On the other hand (2), the train will not leave the station until the next route is free, and the place on the nearest siding will not be available.

Sometimes, with thoughtful planning, trains don't need a lot of signalling on their routes. If there is only one train on a given stretch or its route doesn't cross the path of another train, then they can do without additional semaphores, e.g. (as in the picture above) you could create a long route to the station, and connect the two separate routes before the said station. The first train would wait until the second one gets to the station, but when that train starts to head back, passes the intersection and enter its own track, the first train will start moving, although there are no signals on the route (without taking the signalling at the station into account). Of course, adding signals before the intersection and building an additional siding will speed up the movement of both trains.

There are three types of signalling:

1. two-way signalling at stations, warehouses and supply towers.
2. two-directional signals placed by the player.
3. one-directional signals placed by the player (modified from the ordinary ones).

Signals from structures are created automatically and cannot be deleted. Each train starts its journey from a station, so if there is no adapted infrastructure (i.e. no additional tracks or signalling), the train will not leave the station. Supply towers can be used for additional signalling, e.g. in sidings or before entering a station that serves several trains. There is only one drawback of this solution: you cannot set one-way semaphores. Therefore, it is not worth relying solely on this type of signalling.

Ordinary signals allow movement in both directions (1), although the train stops only in front of them (before the cone which indicates the direction). If the train comes from the opposite side, it will ignore the signal. The one-way signals work similarly, but block the way for trains coming from the opposite side. You will not even be able to create a single line with such settings. The trains will start going if you set the traffic on a given track only to one specific direction.

1. The signals put up by the player are free and can be two-directional and one-directional. When the object is placed, a green arrow appears, indicating the direction of movement. The train will stop behind the signal if it has no free track. When the train arrives from the other side, it will only ignore the signal if it can reach its destination.
2. Sometimes this can lead to a block on a long route because a train has gone "upstream". Other trains will wait until it leaves the busy track (often they will not move from the station). Here, one-way signals come in handy. They will facilitate the construction of more complex railway lines. Normal signals can be built on simple routes, e.g. where a production center is connected to an access track, which is used by several trains.
3. To build a one-way signal, simply hold down the SHIFT key and select a specific signal. A stop sign will appear before the mentioned green arrow. From now on, no train will cross the signal if it comes from the opposite direction. This way, you can create one-way or two-way routes (each track in the opposite direction; as on an ordinary road). From now on, a given line will be considered as one-directional. You will see that the route "flows" in only one direction in the object construction mode. Thanks to this, it is easier to plan routes for your trains. You can also use the CTRL key and click on a given route to create signalling at even intervals to the nearest intersection, another signal, station or supply tower.

Signals in practice

Below you will find some ideas for using signalling and signals on your rail routes.

In the case of a classic siding, set up one-way semaphores only at the end of each entry (1). If you decide to use a supply tower, you can set it up at the beginning, but in the second part you have to place a one-directional signal on each of the tracks (2).

1. Sidings. One of the basic types of passages. Thanks to this solution, two trains (or more, if you set up additional sidings) can run on one route. The principle is simple: somewhere in the middle of the line you create a second parallel track for a length slightly longer than the full composition of the trains.
2. On each track you place one-way signals at the end of the section. There is no need to set up additional signals at the beginning of a given section. The trains will detect the free route themselves.

With double-track, remember to set a large number of signals at even intervals, thanks to which the traffic will run more smoothly (1). Set up one-directional signals in front of each station and connect up each track, so that the trains have access to several platforms (2).

1. Double-track. With a large number of trains and a lot of usage of a given route, it is worth to set up a double-track railway line. Set up one-way signals on each side, and place a one-way signal at the beginning and end of each route. It is worth sticking to the principle of right-hand traffic.
2. This way, after connecting additional lines, routes or exits, the trains will not mix up the direction of travel on other parts of the route. Remember that even if you have more platforms available, trains will automatically set themselves to use the nearest one. Change the platforms that you want them to get on manually. Thanks to this, all of the trains will not stand in the same queue to only one platform.

A simple connection requires you to connect the tracks to the main thread and set signals at each exit (1). If you want to connect a line to a large two-way route, you must connect a separate track to each direction of traffic (2). Blue arrows indicate the directions on the main route, and red arrows the directions of the route that exits/connects to the main track.

1. Exits/connecting smaller lines to the main track. It is very useful to create a connection to the main route, e.g. when you might want to connect a given company with the main track where there are sidings. It is enough to connect the tracks in such a way, so that the train can enter from both sides and then set the signals to allow movement towards the main thread.
2. If you want to connect to a double-track route, the rule is similar, although the train will only be able to enter from one side, and will have to cross the entire route in order to return. You have to create connections to both sides, usually by creating a bridge or a tunnel.
3. Place the signals just in front of the point at which the two routes join on the section where the train will enter the route. In the section where the train leaves the main thread, you must place a signal just before the exit, so that other trains do not wait unnecessarily.

With a really large number of trains, you can build several entry routes, but connect each route successively at the exit (1). So in the case of 4 tracks, first connect them up into two tracks, and then into a single track, which will return to the main double-track thread. You can also divide the main track in the same way, in order to be able to use more platforms (2). At some distance in front of the station, build an additional track(s) to unload traffic in front of the station itself (3). This way, it will take the trains less time to occupy a platform.

If the traffic is really dense, consider building several access routes to the station. The thread will be double-track most of the time, but just before the station it will split into several access lines. In this arrangement, you must create an entry point from the other side of the station, so that the recurring trains do not block the entryway for station-bound trains. The downside of this solution is the inability to use the station from two sides.

A dual-track station bypass. This is an effective solution that will improve the throughput of the main thread, and at the same time, will connect the city which is in the path of the railway, without the need to build bridges or tunnels. Blue arrows show the directions of the main thread. The station has two platforms, but each of them is connected only on one side. Thanks to this, the trains will not pass through the station in order to shorten their routes. Red arrows show a route that bypasses the station on one side, and the orange arrows show a one-way bypass on the other side. This way, the trains that want to stop at Redding will not block traffic for the other connections.

If you connect one-way routes at a certain distance from the station, you will create a zone in which the trains will be able to calmly wait for entry or departure from the station. This way, they will not block the movement of other trains.

Another important issue is the moment of connecting up side routes to the main thread. This is useful for every possible signalling system. The main route (1) leads to the city. It is forked into two one-way routes on the left (2) and the right side (3). If the routes were connected just before the station, the trains entering or leaving the platforms would block traffic on the whole route. For this reason, the location of the connection is a bit further away. This way, you create a "waiting room" for your trains (4). In this zone, trains heading to the city already have an available track, where they will be waiting. However, those that leave the station will not be waiting in the city, but on their own track. Even when a train arrives from the orange route, the engines on the main thread will not block the station. However, on the other side, a train waiting to enter the station will not block a different connection. Trains on the red route want to avoid the city using the detour on the right. Thanks to this, you will avoid traffic jams and downtime, which will affect the efficiency of your trains.

Railway Empire

January 26, 2018

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