Something strange with a Passenger Rail Station

[Cleatis 0]

Early in the building of my city, I built a passenger train station to allow my more remote sims access to my Industrial Zones on the other side of the medium size map.  Of course, I also built a road between the sims and the Industrial area.  Something told me the sims would use the road instead of the train station, but I thought I would give it some time and see what would happen.  If the sims weren't using the station, I would just tear it down.  What happened later surprised me and I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else.

After some time had passed, I had built a Commercial zone fairly close to the train station and it was growing.  Before I tore down the station, I did a traffic query on it.  350 sims were using the train station.  I was thrilled, until I realized that they were driving to the train station, but they weren't taking the train.  None of the rails had any traffic at all.  However, heavy pedestrian traffic was emanating from the train station and walking to their jobs in the nearby Commercial zone.  They were using my train station as a parking lot.  That's not unlike real life, but it's the first time I've seen it in SC4.

Anyone else seen this?  I just recently downloaded the NAM.  Does that have anything to do with it?

[quicksilver991 37]

yeah that happens to me to. that is just how the traffic simulator and commute engines work. this has nothing to do with the NAM.

[joshriddle 29]

I think it might also have something to do with the people who work at the station.

[quicksilver991 37]

that too

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Yes, I have a remote industrial zone and wanted the Sims to use the rail, so I set it up as the only path to the industry zone.  They used one station as a parking lot, and worked in the local comm area.  So I moved a high-rise node futher up the tracks, put in a station, and there you are:  They started going to the industry block, but it took a long time for enough of them to get there.  The industry block had a direct line on the rail to my seaport with no other export point.  They didn't use it, but held out until I ran the rail line over to Sim Nation.  Finicky bounders.

[z1 566]

Originally posted by: Cleatis

I just recently downloaded the NAM.  Does that have anything to do with it?quote>

Most definitely.  When you downloaded the NAM, you got the NAM traffic simulator, which makes the Sims very smart about commuting.  Why take the train across town when they can walk to an equivalent job in a shorter time?  Would you?  These guys have become sneaky little simulacrums.

[Cleatis 0]

Thanks for all the insight and comments. It helps to know I'm not the only one who noticed this. I was beginning to think my mind was playing tricks on me.

[voltage 0]

Using the train station as parking lot would only be a benefit if there was a shortage of parking lots in the game. Doesn't seem like parking is simulated though, at least route query displays it as cars going directly from house to house.