Enter an all-new EMU and run down the Long Beach branch – Train Sim World returns to New York with an all-new extension and the state-of-the-art M9. LIRR Commuter: New York - Long Beach, Hempstead & Hicksville releases on 30th April.
LIRR Commuter: New York - Long Beach, Hempstead & Hicksville
LIRR Commuter offers a new way to experience America’s busiest commuter railroad. Shifting on average a quarter of a million passengers a day, with many services per hour, it is also the USA’s oldest commuter railroad, having been in continuous operation since 1834.
In summary this route Add-on features:
- A total of 57 miles of network to operate
- NEW Long Beach Branch with 10 Stations
- NEW Abandoned Woodhaven Station on part of the Atlantic Branch
- NEW M9 EMU
- UPDATED M7 EMU
- UPDATED Reworking of the Schedule with significantly more services (+ more for those with the M3 EMU loco Add-on)
- NEW Scenarios including ‘Double Duty’ where you can play as a Conductor
- UPDATED Reworking of Sunnyside Yard
- UPDATED Station areas, with updated lighting and textures
- UPDATED Scenery textures, water materials and increased fidelity with the landscape texture blending
- NEW Full TSW4 feature set, including Scenario Planner (chained paths), Volumetric Fog, rain effects as well as TOD4 lighting and Dynamic Weather from TSW3
Pricing and Steam Discounts
This new route Add-on will be priced at $39.99/£29.99/€35.99 and is available to any player that owns Train Sim World 4 (no previous Add-ons / LIRR content is required).
Players on Steam will be able to pre-order with a 10% discount from 23rd April.
There will also be a 10% loyalty discount for Steam players who own the original Long Island Rail Road route Add-on which will stack, resulting in a possible 20% discount on that platform during the pre-order phase.
Loyalty discount will apply to owners of Long Island Rail Road: New York - Hicksville in TSW2020, TSW2, TSW3, or TSW4.
The 10% loyalty discount will remain in place on Steam until 14th May.
Xbox Game Pass players can also take advantage of 10% off Train Sim World 4 Add-ons. This is activated on release. (Can take up to 24 hours).
Unique Gameplay Features
Working with Licensors and Content Adjustments
As part of the development of Long Island Commuter, we’ve been working closely with Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Long Island Rail Road to bring you an experience that is immersive, and provides a safe representation of the route.
In addition to all the new content coming with the route, we’ve adjusted the following:
- Safety Systems for the route will be enabled at all times – this is something unique to Long Island Rail Road Commuter
- The Brake charge will be automated as part of the start-up procedure, rather than operated by the player
- Removed circuit breakers in the rear of the cab
- Door controls have been altered, including removal of door interaction control panels throughout the train
- Signal IDs are now randomised
- Removed CCTV cameras from coaches
We will be developing a Manual for this route to help any players operate with ATC and ACSES Safety Systems, and there will also be a tutorial on how to operate trains on the Long Island Rail Road Commuter route with Safety Systems enabled.
You’ll be able to experience all the exciting new features, in addition to the changes listed above, in our upcoming route preview livestream on 25th April - in which we’ll also devote some time to an ATC and ACSES tutorial.
The Route: Long Beach, Hempstead and Hicksville Branches
LIRR Commuter adds plenty of mileage to the route set in 2017 / 2018 with the Long Beach Branch, in addition to updates and new features in the environment, gameplay and the trains themselves.
NEW: Long Beach Branch
New to LIRR Commuter is the Long Beach Branch, extending south from Lynbrook, where it diverges from the Montauk Branch. First operated in 1880, this line runs through the areas of Oceanside and Island Park, crossing the Barnum Island Channel Bridge and the Wreck Lead Lift Bridge over the Reynolds Channel before arriving at the City of Long Beach, situated on the Long Beach Barrier Island.
At East Rockaway, the open water and docksides show off the new improvements on water materials implemented into this Add-on, as well as an increased fidelity with the landscape texture blending.
The route also features the Wreck Lead Lift Bridge as a notable landmark on this particular line.
Hempstead Branch
The first branch of the LIRR, the original Hempstead Branch, opened way back in 1839. During the 1870s, another branch operated by another railroad ran parallel to the original which eventually resulted in it closing. The current Hempstead Branch is that of the successor and now serves the Queens area and part of Nassau County.
Trains run parallel to the Main Line (mentioned below), before splitting at Floral Park and continuing through Garden City where the line turns south to arrive at Hempstead via Country Life Press.
Main Line (as far as Hicksville)
The Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road covers a number of overlapping branches and lines, including the Hempstead Branch and Port Jefferson Branch. The latter features in this route Add-on as far as the junction at Hicksville Station.
From New York Penn, the Main Line heads through the complex Jamaica Station which is located at the junction between this line and two other major routes: the Atlantic Branch and Montauk Branch. Further down, the Main Line splits via another junction at Floral Park Station onto the Hempstead Branch.
Rolling Stock – the Electric Fleet
NEW: M9
New to the fleet in Train Sim World is the recently introduced M9 EMU. This modern addition to the LIRR network entered service in 2019 primarily to replace the M3 units from the 1980s. The trains are characterised inside by wider seats and larger PIS displays, marking an improvement for passenger comfort over their predecessors. Improved acceleration and stopping power mean a more responsive journey for the engineer and though in service these units reach a maximum of 80 mph, they are in fact capable of 100 mph.
Though it may look similar to the M7, the M9 is in fact an entirely different train, with state-of-the-art features. In-game, the cab features interactive operating screens with unique functionality, including fault clearing and train number implementation as well as ATC and ACSES functionality which is enabled by default.
UPDATED: M7
Existing Train Sim World players may be more familiar with the M7. These units were introduced to the Long Beach Branch in October 2002, shortly after their initial introduction and have since seen operation along other routes in the LIRR network.
For LIRR Commuter, the M7 has been updated with a new set up and improved physics, as well as updated sounds using some audio from Harlem Line as reference material. Like the M9 this train also has interactive screens and ATC and ACSES functionality which is enabled by default.
Also available: Original M3 loco Add-on (TSW4 Compatible)
Players wanting more variety among services can throw back to the M9’s predecessors with the M3 Add-on (available separately).
LIRR’s M3 cars stretch 85-feet in length and are constructed of stainless steel. They are powered by four 160-horsepower traction motors riding in General Steel GSI trucks. The versatile EMUs are built in two-car ‘married pairs’ and operate at speeds of up to 80 mph (129 km/h) on the LIRR.
These units add 3 Scenarios to the route Add-on and 32 services to the new schedule.
Services, Scenarios and Schedule
The new and improved schedule is based on real world reference material from around 2021 and features regular traffic on all lines. The M9 in-game is represented on more services than is typical to offer more gameplay on the route. In reality, the fleet is growing with M7 units still making up a large percentage of services.
This results in a total of 306 playable services for the M9 and 287 playable services for the M7. As well as services running the entire Long Beach and Hempstead branches, there will be services covering other parts of the network that run out of the map, which are drivable for part of their run, such as those running the Main Line as far as Hicksville.
During rush hour, services are rather unique as there are times when both the east and west lines to Hicksville are used for traffic in the same direction resulting in your train overtaking / being overtaken by other trains. During quieter times of day, there are deadheading services running empty back to the depot as well as yard services and coupling to other units to form longer trains.
Due to performance limitations on older hardware, Gen 8 consoles and Xbox Series S feature a less intensive schedule with a total of 208 playable services.
Signaling
Much of the increase in available services within the schedule are down, not only to the introduction of the M9, but also improvements in signaling implementation and the dispatcher. The realistic traffic flow has been aided by the addition of missing signals.
A more thorough bit of work has also been done by amending and improving the ‘custom logic’ in the signal model which configures behavior based on what is going on ahead. With the Long Island Rail Road, each area is configured in a different way and this system allows for that. Each signaling point needed to be manually programmed in order for them to behave as expected.
Additionally, scripted timed code changes have been made in the signal model. At various points on the LIRR, the cab signal in the locomotive can change several seconds after passing a signaling point. This keeps trains going at a higher speed for a longer period of time, which in turn improves efficiency.
Our team are also working on core dispatcher improvements relating to some stuck train issues.
Double Duty
In the UK Glossop Line route Add-on, players could utilise a ‘Guard Mode’ for the first time in the On Guard Scenario. For LIRR Commuter, we’ve brought this alternative style of gameplay to another Scenario: Double Duty.
In this Scenario, the passengers will have randomized seats and tickets, giving it a new level of replayability not seen in Glossop Line. As the conductor, you’ll need to ensure passengers have the correct ticket for their journey and give the appropriate response. On top of that there'll also be some yard work to do assisting the engineer in preparing the train.
Note: there will be no achievements or trophies for this route Add-on.
Train Sim World 4: LIRR Commuter: New York - Long Beach, Hempstead & Hicksville route Add-on will be available from 30th April for $39.99/£29.99/€35.99
Players on Steam will be able to pre-order with a 10% discount from 23rd April.
There will also be a 10% loyalty discount for Steam players who own the original Long Island Rail Road route Add-on which will stack, resulting in a possible 20% discount on that platform during the pre-order phase.
Loyalty discount will apply to owners of Long Island Rail Road: New York - Hicksville in TSW2020, TSW2, TSW3, or TSW4.
The 10% loyalty discount will remain in place on Steam until 14th May.
Xbox Game Pass players can also take advantage of 10% off Train Sim World 4 Add-ons. This is activated on release. (Can take up to 24 hours).
You can join the Railfan TV team on Twitch and YouTube at 11:00 PT / 13:00 CST / 14:00 ET / 18:00 UTC / 19:00 BST on 25th April for a preview of Train Sim World 4: LIRR Commuter: New York - Long Beach, Hempstead & Hicksville.
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