Signals
This time I will share how Sweet Transit trains avoid going into one another. Rails are tricky and dangerous for locomotive drivers. It is scary having all of these intersections and not knowing if a train is around the corner. For this purpose there are signals. Signals control when trains can move and in which direction. Your rail system would be in chaos without them. Currently there are 3 types of signals.
Simple rail signals will be used the most. In some maps I find myself with thousands of these populated everywhere. They work by simply looking ahead and tell if the section until the next signal is free of trains. A train can pass this signal only if the section is free of other trains. They are the core component in having a rail system with multiple trains that do not collide.
You cannot have a working signaling system without chain signals. Chain signals look at the next signal to see if a path is available. A train will be forced to stop by the chain signal if all signals in front are blocked. This is very useful for intersections and stations.
Sometimes more control will be needed to sustain your massive amounts of trains. It is hard to have an efficient system with locomotives that vary in speed and length. For that you can use requirement signals. They allow a train through only if they pass the requirement. That can be speed, length or destination. For example, with this your long trains will not go to the tracks that are designed for the shorter ones.
Here is one of the newer additions. It is always fun and strange to make renders like this with models that are not designed for it. But it still kind of works if you do not look long enough.
By now, the early game should be quite clear. I will write only one last post to avoid spoiling the content and mechanics of the mid-game. Have a great day and thank you for reading thus far!