Intercity Commuter Rail

[rodent1989 9]

When placing a heavy rail line, is there a guideline for how far the line should run?  And how to space out the stations?  I've heard "Conncect your residential with industrial areas" a million times.

So.  If my residential and industrial areas are in separate city tiles, should I go with heavy rail, monorail, el-rail, or GLR (can you even make GLR connections?)

Does the best choice change if cost is no issue?

Thanx in advance

[topcliff 1]

well, it all depends on distances, so i'd need to see just how far we're talking here. once i've seen what you are talking about, i'll make my decision. TopCliff

[kochstar 0]

Stupid newbie question: whats GLR? Cannot find this in my transportation (normal Rush Hour installation)!! Thanx in advance!

[toxicpiano 125]

For GLR you need to download the NAM (see Modds and downloads section).

[Tolomar 5]

1. GLR= ground light rail...tis an option in the NAM...latest version can be found in the Modds and download section of the site...

[kochstar 0]

Thanxs from the $%&^! side of life ;-)

[cnystrom1 1]

also, if you search the stex for "glr" you can find a piece that will connect cities with glr pieces (after you  place it over a el-rail connection, though)

[fate556 5]

its ur game kid do whatever u like

[architect2k 0]

is it just me or does SC4 seem to freeze when I try to build GLR? I think GLR is great though

anyway back to the original post, I am currently building a city with a large CBD surrounded by residential area. I have a huge rail sation/bus staion/subway in the centre, then there is 1 more rail station between the centre and the outer edge of the city. This is my express rail (or the RER if people are familiar with Paris) and it runs in tunnels (but not subway) between stops. Between the express rail stops, I have about 4-5, elevated rail Metro stops. The idea is that people use the Rail for longer distances (ie: between cities) and use the Elevated Rail within the city. Unfortinatly, SimCity4 does not take into account stopping time when using rail, so a rail like with 10 stops is the same speed as one with 2 stops.

I think the heavy rail line should run across the whole region. Afterall, railway lines usually run across whole countries (the furthest trip someone can take on 1 train is from Moscow, Russia to Pyongyang, North Korea [that's if anyone manages to obtain a visa to visit the damn country]).

Hope i answered your question

[simoplis_mayor 3]

personally i hate GLR it sucks

[vester_DK 477]

Originally posted by: simoplis_mayor personally i hate GLR it sucksquote>

Well then, just don't use it.

Here is an overview of the different GLR stations ect.

GoaSkin made a neighbour connection, but it kind af disappear from STEX in the update.

[AtkinsSJ_ 7]

Originally posted by: rodent1989 When placing a heavy rail line, is there a guideline for how far the line should run?  And how to space out the stations?  I've heard "Conncect your residential with industrial areas" a million times.

So.  If my residential and industrial areas are in separate city tiles, should I go with heavy rail, monorail, el-rail, or GLR (can you even make GLR connections?)

Does the best choice change if cost is no issue?

Thanx in advancequote>

GLR is just el-rail on the ground, so use el-rail to make connections.

For heavy rail, I tend to have one station near industry, one near residential, and use bus network to get people to and from the stations.

If cost isn't an issue, Monorail is the fastest. Heavy rail is slowest, and Elevated rail is in the middle. But the faster, the more expensive. Use whatever you can afford.

[SC4BOY 21]

I'm curious.. I'm sure this has been discussed before, but is there any way to tranfer from SUBWAY/EL RAIL (and I suppose GLR) to standard TRAIN ? .. other of course than going through stations..

[rodent1989 9]

thanx for all the input, i'm to lazy to lay out GLR but thanx for all the help

architect2k thanx for that idea, i may try a layout like that, with my heavy rail over long distances

[The Sim Mayor 1]

You want to be able to have rail to subway? Sure, there's such a thing. It's on the STEX.

If you need anything that' not in the game, search for it on the STEX (Simtropolis Exchange).

[Altauria 2]

I think much of it is about balancing their commutes. As a rule, if I remember correctly (game mechanics program rule, not guideline) sims don't like to 'walk' more than 8 tiles to almost any destination. That being said, your bus/train stations/subway stations should be placed accordingly. You have to think about density and how many cars you want to clog up the streets. If you don't want many auto traffic, you must build many stations of multiple transit options - like NY/London/Chicago. If you want a more auto oriented city, like LA, make sure you have ample avenues and roads to counter train stations that are placed much further apart. Take this with a grain of salt, (because it's a game, not real life) but try and think of your transit system like it is in real life - it will give you the big picture and answer many questions. Use real cities as models.

[Raistlin 0]

Originally posted by: SC4BOY I'm curious.. I'm sure this has been discussed before, but is there any way to tranfer from SUBWAY/EL RAIL (and I suppose GLR) to standard TRAIN ? .. other of course than going through stations..

quote>

I know there's an EL Rail to Regular Rail. I actually just DL'ed at and it works nicely.

I forget what its called though

But I believe its in the Mods section...

[ILL Tonkso 1,238]

Personally, when i start a city i like to input a lot of Heavy Rail as a base and build my city around it. By building around the rail it gets better usage and really helps with the commute issue/.

[Davaeron 0]

If it may help.....I usually lay down normal rail ( included in SC4 Deluxe/RH ) in simple straight pattern across my region. Preferably like a spider web, having all the rails converging to the downtown or where u want ur BIG CITY to be. Like in real life or on a map.

Because they transport manufactured goods to it has to connect industrial region to big commercial city ( and commuters too )

I use the other rail transportation like monorail and el_rail to deserve residential area.

Im still learning english !

[Davaeron 0]

Hoo and for the spacing of stations I personally put one passenger station every 12-15-20 tile according to the density.

Many chances with ur community. !!

[hamsterTK 93]

My towns always use lots of freight rail and then as i redevelop it into a city that doesnt need all that heavy industry i convert it to commuter rail or just rip up the tracks to build rapid transit/light rail or just go with freeways.

[rodent1989 9]

very useful tips: thanks alot guys

[Clox552003 1]

uh yeah right because freeways answer meet the transit needs, lol

[infoscott 0]

I use heavy rail at the beginning (especially since my region is usually rural), and then add monorail later. Rail's maintenance is like .03 a month, while EL/Monorail/Avenues/Highway are all 1.00 a month. I also build a lot of transit plazas that put adjacent lines of bus, rail, monorail, and subway. I don't like car traffic, so my biggest concession is putting parking structures next to the transit plazas.

As far as how far to run heavy rails, my limit is the entire region. This is my ONLY transport network that is everywhere in every city tile. You'd have to go to someplace like Madagascar to not find rail ubiquity.

[Vitruvius 0]

I'm with Tonkso on this one. My plans for new cities from scratch will always focus on ensuring there's a good central havy rail network with two or three big central stations, and lines radiating out in all directions, occasionally branching and linking to regional centres that act as secondary hubs. Like this:

Subways, buses and light rail can then fill in the gaps.

This arrangement seems to wwrok very well - my rail networks are always very busy, and my transit departments are always net contributors to the city budget - I earn more from fares than I pay out in maintenance.

Plus, I think really busy rail junctions look cool:

[AtkinsSJ_ 7]

Wow. I just love that little intersection! I can never seem to make things realistic; they always end-up too orderly.

[Pixelrage 34]

Originally posted by: Eskiman Wow. I just love that little intersection! I can never seem to make things realistic; they always end-up too orderly.quote>

same for me, I am way too linear of a builder and it goes to the early Sim City days. It's really hard to break that habit.