Each week until launch, we’ll be giving further details about each of the 3 routes, the trains and Deluxe Edition loco Add-ons.
On top of this we’ll outline gameplay elements such as the timetable and layers as well as give further context about the history of the real-world railways.
We start with the longest of the three routes: Leipzig – Dresden. Further details on the Morristown (USA) and Riviera (UK) Lines, will be published in the coming weeks.
Go beyond the boundaries of Nahverkehr Dresden and accelerate westbound all the way to Leipzig in Train Sim World 6. Drive modern ICE, regional and freight traffic along the oldest long-distance railway in Germany.
Built in 1839, the Leipzig-Dresden railway was the first long-distance line in Germany, and one of the oldest in the country. Over time the line earned a reputation for being one of the busiest as well, and its age meant it has seen many improvements to keep up with demand. Today, it is a modern commuter network and LZB-equipped intercity line in one.
Fast services beat the regional traffic through the use of separate lines that each take a different path through the Saxony countryside, and the outskirts of Dresden are served by frequent commuter services.
Though seasoned Train Sim World players may feel that they know half this route already from the Dresden – Riesa Add-on, the doubling of length to Leipzig and addition of the Dresden - Coswig line more than doubles the possible gameplay and services available across the expanded route in Train Sim World 6. The total route length is 160 km!
Key additions to the route include:
NEW 65 km extension from Riesa to Leipzig, including 20 NEW Stations
NEW addition of 13 km Dresden-Coswig line
NEW Friedrichstadt Marshalling Yard
NEW green stripe variant of the DB BR 411 ICE-T
NEW Platform & Passenger Announcements
NEW Random Events in service mode
NEW Train Faults
Updated DB BR 442 featuring Suspension Updates
Dresden-Riesa Entitlement preserving layers for other TSW routes
All players of Bahnstrecke Leipzig – Dresden will receive entitlements to the previously released Dresden – Riesa route Add-on, adding even more trains to their roster and preserving service layers applicable to other European routes in their collection.
The old Dresden – Riesa route Add-on will not be available to purchase separately for Train Sim World 6.
There is a wide variety of trains and locomotives included in the Leipzig - Dresden route, covering a range of services. High-speed, local, S-bahn, freight and shunting gameplay is all catered for, with additional trains available courtesy of the Dresden – Riesa entitlement that all owners of Leipzig – Dresden will receive.
available in Deluxe/Special Edition
The BR 294, originally known as the V 90 series, were built in the 1960s & 70s as heavy shunting locomotives. Their weight and power made them suitable for shunting long trains, but also transporting wagons between different locations. In the 1990s a fleet overhaul saw 290 locos rebuilt & reclassified as the BR 294.
Despite their age, and with multiple locos retired in favour of newer traction, many 294s can still be found working today, holding onto local train duties and preparing long-distance freight for mainline traction to take onward. Their continuing commonality has made them a familiar sight across the length of Germany’s oldest long-distance railway.
In Bahnstrecke Leipzig – Dresden, the BR 294 will work to assemble freight consists in the various yards along the 160km route, with some main line running moving trains between facilities. Given their prominence across Germany, players will get further use out of this locomotive by spawning it into timetable mode in other Train Sim World routes.
The BR 294 comes equipped with PZB and Sifa. There is also a Throttle Lock that players will need to be mindful of when operating, which is highlighted by the Driver Assist prompts. You can learn more about the operation of German railway safety systems in the Training Center.
The DB BR 294 loco Add-on will be available to purchase separately once Train Sim World 6 has released on 30th September.
Returning to Train Sim World’s ICE fleet is the DB BR 411 ICE-T, complete with its impressive GNT technology!
ICE-T units have been in service across Germany since 1999, adding a different style of train to that of the ICE 1. The ICE-T's tilting function, which can reach a maximum of 8 degrees, allows them to travel at higher speeds that conventional trains. A separate system in place to monitor this and needs to be enabled in order for the tilting to take place.
This system, GNT, works with other safety systems like PZB, LZB and Sifa to ensure safe operation across the Frankfurt–Fulda route. The GNT system needs to be turned on in order for tilting to work. This is a manual process done by the player.
Due to the nature of the Leipzig - Dresden route, the GNT system is less relevant than on the previously released Frankfurt – Fulda route.
This DB BR 411 ICE-T comes in a new variant with a green stripe depicting DB’s “Das ist grün” campaign.
The DB BR 411 ICE-T is included in Train Sim World 6’s Bahnstrecke Leipzig – Dresden route. Players do not need to own previously released content to access this train.
The new generation BR 442 ‘Talent 2’ was built by Bombardier and introduced in 2009, the successor to the ‘Talent’ this was put in to service by Deutsche Bahn to replace older EMU types and loco-hauled trains on both S-Bahn and Regio services.
The variant in Bahnstrecke Leipzig – Dresden has been updated to include in-game Suspension.
The BR 442 comes equipped with PZB and Sifa. You can learn more about the operation of German railway safety systems in the Training Center.
The DB BR 442 EMU is included in Train Sim World 6’s Bahnstrecke Leipzig – Dresden route.
Players do not need to own previously released content to access this train.
The modular TRAXX locomotives from Bombardier have become one of Europe’s most widespread family of locomotives and includes the BR 185.5! Bombardier’s TRAXX (Transnational Railway Applications with Extreme Flexibility) is a modular product platform of electric and diesel-electric locomotives.
The BR 185.5’s had a top speed of 140km/h (87mph) and operated as a general-purpose freight locomotive. More than 300 BR 185.5 locomotives were built and sold to various train operators, including leasing companies, throughout Europe, including Switzerland, France and Germany.
The MRCE variant of the BR 185 is also included with the Dresden – Riesa route entitlement.
The DB BR 185 electric locomotive is included in Train Sim World 6’s Bahnstrecke Leipzig – Dresden route. Players do not need to own previously released content to access this train.
Further passenger services can also be operated by the BR 146.2, as previously seen in the Frankfurt – Fulda and Main-Spessart Bahn route Add-ons. These more modern electric locomotives will add yet more variety to the timetable and an alterative setting in which operate passenger trains.
This locomotive is a modern, speedy, passenger-oriented example of motive power. In the early 2000s Deutsche Bahn placed an order for 47 passenger locomotives, these would follow in the footsteps of previous designs, such as the 185.2, combined with older passenger variants to provide a modern counterpart, known as the DB BR 146.2.
Being passenger-focused, the 146.2 features a higher top speed than the 185.2 and is also equipped with destination board equipment as well as push-pull capability, allowing it to be driven from a control car.
The BR 146 comes equipped with LZB, AFB, PZB and Sifa. You can learn more about the operation of German railway safety systems in the Training Center.
The DB BR 146.2 electric locomotive is included in Train Sim World 6’s Bahnstrecke Leipzig – Dresden route. Players do not need to own previously released content to access this train.
The inclusion of the Dresden – Riesa entitlement for all players of Train Sim World 6 Standard, Deluxe and Special Edition means that additional trains will also be available to operate.
These are:
DB BR 143
DB BR 363 ‘V 60’ Shunter
New to Train Sim World 6 is the introduction of Train Faults and Random Events, ensuring that no two services are ever the same!
These toggleable features will keep players on their toes, with signal delays and issues with the trains themselves resulting in the need to react and work through solutions as guided by the in-game prompts.
Train Faults will occur in the form of Wiper Failures and Lighting Failures.
These faults can be easily reset. Players will get a pop up when a fault occurs so that they can then take the necessary action to clear it. Some of these may require a breaker to be reset.
Signal Delays will once again be something to consider when playing with the Random Events enabled. At Dresden, both HL and KS types of signalling are in use and looking out for any atypical aspects will keep players on their toes!
This of course will also impact those playing with LZB, AFB and PZB systems enabled, resulting in the need to react further to alerts or have the LZB system reduce train speeds as necessary.
An extensive and complex timetable has been implemented into not only to make full use of the variety of trains from within the route, but also those from the wider German content back catalogue. This includes layering using multiple Add-ons.
The types of services available to operate in Leipzig - Dresden include:
ICE-T express traffic between Dresden and Leipzig, using the avoiding line in the East and LZB in the West.
Regional services (RE50, RB31, RE15, RE18) with the BR 442, which also operates local services towards Großenhain and forms AI traffic at Leipzig and Riesa.
BR 143 hauled Dostos operating peak S1 and all S2 services.
BR 146 hauled Dostos operating S1 and RE50 services.
Multiple paths from Dresden to Riesa, followed by a high-speed dash to Leipzig.
Freight trains using the BR 185 serving industries and the large Friedrichstadt yard, including loco swaps and trains heading out of the map toward Czechia.
BR 363 shunting services, available via the Dresden-Riesa entitlement
Deluxe / Special Edition players (or those that purchase the loco Add-on separately) will also be able to operate BR 294 shunting and local freight services.
An overview of Additional Service Layers is as follows:
BR 1442 trains from the Rapid Transit Add-on offering playable S4 services from Leipzig and AI traffic
BR 642 trains using the Maintalbahn Add-on offering playable and AI services
BR 218 hauled services using n-Wagen stock offering playable services and AI traffic at Leipzig
ICE 1 trains from the Kassel-Würzburg route Add-on adding AI traffic at Leipzig
The original DB BR 101 Add-on (with Hauptstrecke Rhein-Ruhr) running playable IC and EC services, including loco swaps at Dresden that can utilise the Railpool BR 193 locomotive
BR 612 AI traffic at Dresden from the Tharandter Rampe route Add-on
BR 103 playable rail tour from the Linke Rheinstrecke Add-on
In addition, static stock that rotates throughout the year (by changing the in-game month) will appear at Leipzig Hbf Platform 24 featuring trains from a wider range of Add-ons, including the E94 railtour pack from TSG. This represents the ‘Museum Platform’ which in reality also rotates a series of historic rolling stock.
As is typical of German routes in Train Sim World, playable locomotive substitutions for both freight and passenger services are available for players with additional content in their collection. This includes the Railpool Vectron, PRESS BR 155, and more.
Get prepared by grabbing some of the relevant Add-ons at 60% off to activate the above layers on Steam! These discounts are available until 1800 BST on 15th September.
The Add-ons on sale are:
For this sale, the Train Sim World 5 versions of the Add-ons have discounts applied. Purchasing these will entitle players to the Train Sim World 6 Compatible version of the Add-ons at no extra charge.
After reviewing performance on previous-generation consoles, we've amended the timetable to provide a suitable experience for these players (Xbox One and PlayStation 4).
All playable services in timetable mode will use the BR 442. Other included trains (ICE-T, BR 143, BR 146, BR 185) will be available to operate in Scenarios.
The only additional layer will be for a selection of playable BR 294 services. There will be no AI-only traffic (services that are not otherwise playable) or freight services.
Players on 8th Generation Consoles with Leipzig - Dresden will also have access to the Dresden - Riesa Add-on entitlement, which will have the current 8th Generation timetable level of services available to it on TSW6, and may provide a better experience if you're looking for a busier timetable on that section of the route.
There will be a selection of 5 Scenarios on Leipzig – Dresden, with an additional 3 Scenarios available for those with the BR 294 including in Train Sim World 6: Deluxe/Special Editions.
Mastery Challenges are also included, requiring you to perform certain tasks on a route, like completing certain Scenarios or travelling a certain number of miles in a specific locomotive. Tier 1 Challenges unlock Posters that can be seen throughout each route. Tier 2 Challenges unlock toggleable Scenery Tiles.
Join the Railfan TV team from 1800 UTC on Wednesday 10th September on YouTube and Twitch.
If you can’t wait to become part of the action, remember that you can pre-order Train Sim World 6 now!
You can also pre-order via trainsimworld.com, which is now localised into the German language.
Pre-ordering available bundles (including Standard edition) can entitle players to a 10% discount. Please see our TSW6 FAQs for more information on this for each game platform.
Deluxe / Special Edition players can pre-order now to get 5-day Early Access and will also receive the CrossCountry Class 220 Voyager, NJ TRANSIT®ALP-45DP and DB BR 294 in addition to all the core routes listed above.
Special Edition players will also receive additional back catalogue route Add-ons.
Find out more about Train Sim World 6 by following @trainsimworld on Twitter/X, Bluesky, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok.
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