Experience the Class 323 from Manchester through to Derbyshire in the next Train Sim World 3 route Add-on! Train Sim World 3: Glossop Line: Manchester – Hadfield & Glossop is coming on 27th June for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Epic Games Store, and Steam for £19.99/$24.99/€24.99

A new operator, a new route and some exciting new gameplay features! Glossop Line: Manchester – Hadfield & Glossop may have some familiar elements – not least the starring unit – but this short, unique and complete line has plenty to offer for both new players and those with existing UK content.

Read our Glossop Line Coming Soon article on our website for more information and details!

Launch & Loyalty Discounts

A discount of 10% will be available from launch to most players who have previously purchased Birmingham Cross-City (and thus, the Class 323). Breakdown of these Launch / Loyalty discounts:

• Steam: 10% discount for players that own Birmingham Cross-City (ends 31st July 18:00 BST)
• Xbox: 10% discount for players that own Birmingham Cross-City (ends 31st July 10:00 BST)
• PlayStation: 10% launch discount for PS Plus members (ends 31st July 10:00 BST)
• Epic Games Store: 10% launch discount for all players (ends 4th July 16:00 BST)

This is the first time we’ve worked to bring savings for our most loyal players and we hope there will be similar opportunities to do so across all platforms in future!

Glossop Line Route Map

Modern Manchester is represented in Train Sim World for the first time in Glossop Line, with Manchester Piccadilly Station forming the terminus at the western end of the route. This iconic and important station for the northwest becomes the latest major UK station to be featured in Train Sim World, joining the likes of Birmingham New Street, London Victoria, Leeds, Glasgow Central and Liverpool Lime Street from previous route Add-ons.

The Class 323 ‘Hyper Networker’

The Class 323 has proved popular among railfans since its introduction in 1994 and became an equally popular addition to the Train Sim World fleet in Birmingham Cross-City Line: Lichfield – Bromsgrove & Redditch. At the end of 1997, these distinctive EMUs were introduced to the Glossop Line, working under a number of guises before becoming branded under the current operator Northern.

The standout feature, recognisable from in the cab or on the platform, is the whine that the traction motors emit during acceleration and deceleration. Sounds formed an important and detailed part of the process for the team during the initial development of Birmingham Cross-City and you can read more about how these were recorded by revisiting our November Roadmap from last year.

For Glossop Line, the features of the Class 323 remain very much the same, ensuring a dependable and enjoyable experience from inside the cab, but through a distinctly different environment to that of the suburban West Midlands. On the outside, the unit displays the purple hue of Northern’s current livery along with unit numbers that reflect the fleet used in this part of England.

Manchester Piccadilly

Heading east, the route forms part of the historic Woodhead Line which ran its way through the Pennines via the Woodhead Tunnels to the city of Sheffield. This line closed east of Hadfield in 1981 and it is here where the current line and this route Add-on terminates. A few miles south, another terminus exists at Glossop. Trains from Manchester call here before changing ends and continuing to Hadfield and the same happens in reverse – trains depart Hadfield and call at Glossop first, before changing ends and continuing west along the line to Manchester.

Dinting Station

Dinting Station forms (along with Glossop and Hadfield) one of three Derbyshire stations along this route and is also the location of the impressive Dinting Viaduct built in 1844. Stations west of here fall within Greater Manchester and feature the likes of Guide Bridge, Flowery Field and Broadbottom.

Dinting Viaduct

The complete end-to-end(-to-end?) route offers a different setting for the Class 323 with a slower pace and unique operation at both eastern termini.

Guard Scenario

Guard functionality also returns but as a fully interactive gameplay feature in the ‘On Guard’ Scenario, where players perform various duties outside of driving, including checking passenger tickets! A full in-depth look at how we developed this new and exciting feature is covered in the recent June Roadmap.

A New Gameplay Feature

In addition to the exciting Guard Scenario, players will also be able to do some on-foot exploration with a camera in hand as part of another unique gameplay feature in Glossop Line. You're tasked with taking specific photos as you complete a drive along the line, with photo points at some of the stations.

Once the journey is complete, you will see a photo gallery at Manchester Picadilly station to review!

Services and Layers

2 tph (trains per hour) will run between Manchester Piccadilly and Hadfield, calling at Glossop along the way, requiring tight timekeeping and diligent driving when approaching some signals.

Early morning and late evening ECS (Empty Coaching Stock) runs will be playable between Manchester and Ardwick Depot, which is located between Ardwick and Ashburys Stations at the western end of the route.

AI Class 323 services will also be seen running off the map in services from Manchester to Crewe, Manchester Airport, Stoke-on-Trent and Liverpool Lime Street.

There are also some service layers to look forward to for players of both Train Sim World 3 and Train Sim World Compatible content:

• EMT Class 158 (Midland Main Line) will appear as AI services at Manchester Piccadilly, with one playable ECS movement to operate.
• Class 66 RHTT will be playable during the relevant in-game seasons (Sept-Nov) and feature as static stock all year round.
• Railtours! Both steam and diesel railtours will be playable utilising locomotives and rolling stock from Tees Valley Line (Class 37 + Mk2 Coaches), **Northern Trans-Pennine** (Class 47, Class 20 + Mk2 Coaches) and Spirit of Steam.
• Freight - Occasional freight services between Hyde North / Guide Bridge and Ashburys / Manchester Piccadilly.

Along with a host of other seasonal static and AI layers using stock from the West Somerset Railway, Southeastern Highspeed, Great Western Express, Midland Main Line and more!

Join the Railfan TV team on Twitch, YouTube and Facebook at 18:00 UTC on Thursday 22nd June for a preview of Glossop Line.

Find out more about Train Sim World 3 by following @trainsimworld on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok.