Help with custom train stations strange use pattern

[rose 40]

Hello!
I've been recently adding custom content to my game, and two train stations have a strange effect I can't understand.

 

The first is Marrast 1x6 Rail Station (capacity 4000) and the other is the small of the SemiTransparent Train Stations set by cogeo (10,000 capacity).

When I build the small capacity (4000) usage is high (10,000+)
When I build the large capacity (10,000) usage is low (1000-2000)

This effect even happens when eliminating all variables by starting from an identical save point, and building each station in the EXACT same spot.

I can't figure out why this happens  :S
And I'd love to know because there's no space for other train stations that don't go right on top of the rails : )

 

[rsc204 21,805]

Station modding varies greatly between modders and even based on the time they were made. The reality is that most on the exchanges simply have not been optimised based on the latest understanding we have in this area. For example, 4k cap (and 10k too) has been identified as problematic, although I suspect what you are seeing are differences between the Transit Switches and Transit Switch Entry Cost properties. Basically these dictate which transit connections are possible and whether or not there is a delay in using one.

I think @Tyberius06 has been working on both these sets to provide updated modern stats, which will optimise their usage. Otherwise I can give them a quick once over since these stations are pretty popular.

[Tyberius06 12,184]

1 hour ago, rsc204 said:

Station modding varies greatly between modders and even based on the time they were made. The reality is that most on the exchanges simply have not been optimised based on the latest understanding we have in this area. For example, 4k cap (and 10k too) has been identified as problematic, although I suspect what you are seeing are differences between the Transit Switches and Transit Switch Entry Cost properties. Basically these dictate which transit connections are possible and whether or not there is a delay in using one.

I think @Tyberius06 has been working on both these sets to provide updated modern stats, which will optimise their usage. Otherwise I can give them a quick once over since these stations are pretty popular.

The marrast stations are done, indeed, the cogeo ones have not been updated yet. Some of the marrast stations got extra HRW (hybrid rail) options.

[rose 40]

Thanks for your responses!!! 
I downloaded SC4PIM to look for those stats, and I think the issue is that the SemiTransparent Train Stations don't have car access (in the building properties, not road access). So the usage drops when people can't drive to it. Out of curiosity why is the 4k and 10k capacity a problem?

[CorinaMarie 29,571]

25 minutes ago, rose said:

Out of curiosity why is the 4k and 10k capacity a problem?

I'm fairly sure it's not those exact numbers (as in no oddity for them specifically), but that both are too low and they can easily get overwhelmed. I seem to recall NAM increases the regular passenger station capacity to 24,000 so that's 6 times more than the 4k, and 2½ times the 10k.

If the usage goes over (roughly) 400% that station (or that entire network?) shuts down for a Sim Day and that can create wild fluctuations in travel and jobs and other dependent calculations.  

[rsc204 21,805]

On 11/22/2025 at 11:14 AM, rose said:

I downloaded SC4PIM to look for those stats, and I think the issue is that the SemiTransparent Train Stations don't have car access (in the building properties, not road access). So the usage drops when people can't drive to it. Out of curiosity why is the 4k and 10k capacity a problem?

Cogeo did add switches for Car to Ped in the larger two stations of the pack, but omitted it from the 'Rail Stop' variant. I suspect this was quite deliberate, to differentiate between them, I am personally loathe to change such things except for personal use. So yeah, if Marrast's stations all had car support, they would be more efficent.

One thing that is worth noting, the capacity of a station affects only one thing, how much traffic can use it before it gets overwhelmed. Even then, the only calculation is that Cori mentioned above, somewhere north of 400% of capacity the entire network shuts down for the day, not simply the station in use.

The reason the old modding is such a problem is a combination of NAM/Traffic Simulator updates, a preference amongst players for higher populations and faster computers that can handle these things. So if we consider that with the NAM traffic simulator, it's possible to have rail lines with capacity at 64k, although most people use lower capacity variants. In practise, unless we want to make all stations multiple times, the values we use today reflect the potential max they might encounter. This may make it seem as though the increased capacity is some sort of cheat, but there are no negative (or positive) side effects of this, except that it prevents networks from being overwhelmed.

The second part of all this gets a bit more complex, usage can directly correspond to the transit switches used, especially with multi-modal stations. But I think it's not a big deal here, all that really needs altering is to update the TSEC and Capacity and they should work just fine. But indeed, some stations may be more optimised than a lot of the older content, which in some cases is downright broken, because they've not been updated from the early days when things were different.

SemitransparentTrainStations_Lots.dat

I've made those tweaks, just replace the original file with this update.

[rose 40]

Thank you so much for that!!!  I can use it right away.
I was able to edit the capacity but editing transit properties is still beyond me : )