Transport Fever Signalling Guide

Overview

A basic text-based guide on signalling in Transport Fever. Includes signal function, differences from other games/real life, and basic layouts.

Introduction

In Transport Fever, signals allow multiple trains to share the same track. They are essential components of an efficient transport system. It is important to understand their behavior within the game, especially what they do and what they do not do. In this guide, I will cover how signals work within Transport Fever, differences between Transport Fever, Transport Tycoon, and real-life signals, and several example layouts. This guide is intended for new players and experienced tycoons alike.

A note before diving into signals: there is no train-based pathfinding in Transport Fever. All pathfinding in the game occurs with the placement and modification of the individual lines.

Signals

Signals are structures constructed by a player that divide tracks separate sections called blocks that can only be occupied by one train on any line at one time. Depending on the in-game year, a signal is either a semaphore type, with a moving indicator that is horizontal for stop and raised 45 degrees for clear (or go), or it is a color light type with red for stop and green for clear.

The default indication for a signal is stop. This prevents trains from colliding due to poor design of junctions. Signals will only display clear if the preceding track block is clear of traffic on their own line, or on an intersecting or overlapping line. This means that a signal’s indication also depends upon the train approaching the signal. If two trains approach a junction and their respective lines do not cross or overlap, the corresponding signals will indicate clear and both trains will be able to cross through the junction without delay.

When placing signals, only construct them in a location where it is safe for the train to stop and not block another line’s path through a junction.
Do not place signals too close to junctions, as this may have unintended consequences.

Signals help indicate the direction of travel on a line. The current vanilla design has trains approach the signal from the front when the signal is constructed on the right side of the track. Trains may approach signals from the rear; in such a case, the train continues as if no signal is present.

A player may designate a signal as one-way.
To do so, click on the signal and select one-way in the pop-up window. Such signals do not allow trains to approach from the rear of the signal. This is useful in forcing specific behavior at through-type stations.

A signal may be used as a waypoint to force a line along a certain track.
To do so, click on a signal while adding stations in the line manager window. This is not recommended, however, as any changes to the signaling, such as demolishing and constructing new signals, will cause the waypoint to be lost along with any associated pathing. Use the standard waypoints instead to keep the two uses separate and to facilitate planning and construction.

Station platforms and railroad depots have built-in signals. These signals only apply to those trains stopped at a platform or departing a depot. Station platform signals do not apply to trains on a line that passes through a station without stopping. See the section below on station signal layouts for more information.

Differences

The signals in Transport Fever are similar, yet different, from those found in similar games, such as Transport Tycoon and its current incarnation Open TTD, and from real life.

For those players with experience in Transport Tycoon, and especially Open TTD (collectively, TTD), Transport Fever’s signals are nearly identical to TTD’s path-based signals, where trains reserve a specific path through junctions controlled by the signals. However, a major difference is pathfinding. In Transport Fever, all pathfinding occurs with the placement and modification of the individual lines, unlike in TTD, where each train found its own individual path at each signal. Therefore, in Transport Fever it is not possible to construct stations where trains on the same line going in the same direction can use multiple platforms simultaneously, because these trains do not set a new path at each signal as they do in TTD. In addition, there is no need for entry or exit signals in Transport Fever.

Signals in Transport Fever also differ significantly from those in real life; Transport Fever signals are an abstraction of the complex systems found in real railways. Signals that protect junctions on real railways are nearly always controlled by a live person—either a dispatcher or signal operator—working within an established system of rules that can dynamically react to changing needs or situations. This allows advanced uses like wrong-way running, where trains on a double tracked route use the track reserved for the opposite direction to avoid obstacles or overtake slower trains. Such actions would be very difficult in Transport Fever, and would reduce efficiency instead of increasing it.

Example Layouts

Passing loops allow two trains to share one track. These trains can share a line or be on two separate lines. Signals should be placed only in the direction of travel prior to the junctions on the double track portion of the line. Do not place a signal prior to the junction on the single track side, as you can cause the line to jam if there are more than two trains sharing the same track.

Signals should be placed at regular intervals along the direction of travel to create track blocks. The length of the block depends on train length and frequency. The distance between signals should correspond at least to the length of the longest train using the track, so one train only occupies one block. Tracks hosing lines of high frequency, or a large number of individual trains, may have shorter blocks to allow trains to stay in motion longer, at the expense of additional signals and the possibility of one train occupying multiple blocks.

Note on Overtaking: Transport Fever does not allow for the automatic overtaking of slower trains by faster trains, since all pathfinding is conducted by the player-set lines and not the trains themselves. If fast trains are on the same track as slow trains, passing sidings must be constructed and waypoints used to move the slow trains out of the way of fast trains. While in the early game this is not a problem as all trains are uniformly slow, by the modern period, it would be best to separate out freight lines from passenger lines onto dedicated tracks.

Level crossings are where two tracks intersect at the same level, but do not allow trains to switch from one track to another. This is useful in the early game or with tracks that have low traffic. Signals should be placed before the junction in the direction of travel. Be sure not to place a signal where a stopped train can block the crossing. The above image shows signals for each direction of travel prior to the crossing. This is only applicable in lines with one train crossing over one another.

Level crossings involving multiple tracks, or multiple trains, require more complex signaling and construction. The key is to always provide an exit route for a train over the crossing. This prevents all the tracks from becoming occupied, possibly jamming the crossing. The best tool to address this is the line manager, rather than signals, as the lines set the pathfinding for the trains. In the above example, signals are placed at the exits of the passing loops, rather directly at the crossing, along two legs of the junction to allow for escape tracks for other trains.

In Transport Fever, station platforms and depots have built-in signals with their own unique behavior. A stopped train will not leave a platform or depot if the preceding block of track along its line is not clear.
Station signals do not apply to trains on lines that pass through stations without stopping. Non-stop trains check if a block is clear through the station to the next signal along the line. As illustrated below, this behavior can lead to delays, where trains do not move into what the player assumes to be an un-occupied block. However, this behavior can be used to prioritize one line over another—for example an express line over an all-stops local line.

Train appears to be stuck at a platform.

The track along the line to the destination is not clear.

How to prioritize one line over another using station platform signals and normal signals.

It may be good practice to place signals after station platforms (an exit signal) in the direction of travel, especially when you want to minimize delays on tracks sharing two or more lines with different stopping orders. The use of these signals is up to the player.

Regarding station entrances, signals should be placed along the direction of travel prior to any junction located before the station, not afterwards, in order to keep the junction clear for other trains.

Station signalling overview.

Station entry and exit layouts are best covered in another guide.

Tips

• Always ask yourself if it is safe to stop a train at this location when placing a signal. Is it blocking the path of another line?
• Double check the position of the signal along the track to make sure it faces the direction of travel.
• Use the line tool to see the possible paths through a junction controlled by signals. The player has tools to control line pathfinding, including waypoints.
• Keep an eye out for jamming possibilities, such as signals facing opposite directions a line with two trains that share the same track. This can cause a jam, where each train approaches its signal and cannot go further because of the other train. A passing loop must be constructed, or a train reversed.
• Construct additional tracks to separate lines and place the appropriate signals along the direction of travel.

Conclusion

Signals are an important component to gameplay in Transport Fever. While simple in behavior, they allow for complex and interesting traffic flows when used properly in conjunction with the line tool. I hope this guide has provided useful information for players. Additional examples may be added in the future. Be sure to check out Killakanz’s Signalling Tutorial as well.