Just a quick recap. We set up a basic line from a factory to a resource depot serving one of the many small hamlets that are part of this map. It’s a twin line – one for freight the other for passengers.

 

Early on in the game, when cash is short, there are some decisions to make regarding the scale of the capital assets you buy. It would be ideal to be able to afford a large multi platform station and several factories in a central position then spread a network out from that point.

In gameplay however, this is rarely possible to begin with. Not only do the larger factories, depots and stations cost a lot more to build, they also take more to maintain on a monthly basis. Interesting gameplay decisions are how to balance what you can afford now with what you would like to have in the future.

If a player chooses not to use the “reserve land” function (new to this version of A-Train) then the AI may well spoil your future plans for expanding your initial buildings by adding its own infrastructure around them. While you can “build over” AI placed buildings, the cost of doing so is very high, and not something that most players would consider until well into the game when a good cash flow is established