Last week we gave more details about the Leipzig-Dresden route and BR 294 Deluxe Edition locomotive. We'll talk more about Riviera Line in a future article.
In this article, we’ll dive deep into the details of the NJ TRANSIT® fleet included, as well as the ALP-45DP available in Deluxe Edition. We’ll also look at the route, schedule and service layers.
The Morristown line dates back to the lucrative 1830s, when New Jersey locals needed a connection to New York City. Born to carry people, the line accelerated in popularity among passengers, being extended to Dover by 1848. As time passed and companies merged, it became part of the many electrified lines into New York, and Hoboken Terminal, and today is a frequent commuter line operated by NJ TRANSIT®.
The route is a tale of two halves, with the dense urban environment of New York City slowly fading away into the more suburban setting of New Jersey. New York Penn is the busiest railroad station in the Western Hemisphere, located beneath the famous Madison Square Garden, serving up to 600,000 passengers per day.
The addition of Hoboken Terminal brings another thriving station to this part of the country in Train Sim World, being one of the busiest passenger terminals in North America. From here, trains head through the 1908 Bergen Tunnels, through Newark and Orange to ultimately reach Dover station.
The electrified Morristown Line heads through plenty of small-town stations with a mix of low-level and high-level platforms over a distance of 40 miles. It from these platforms that the new, audible platform announcements will be heard!
Newark Broad Street offers a place for ALP-45DP engineers to change from diesel to electric power (and vice versa) and Kearney Connection offers likewise between voltages for the ALP-46.
Of particular interest to the Dovetail Games team is the inclusion of Dover and Chatham stations, named for their equivalent towns in Kent, England. Chatham in Kent is where our headquarters are based and is featured in the TSW Compatible: Southeastern Highspeed route Add-on (available separately).
Whilst roaming the platforms listening out for new Platform Announcements, players may spot various Bridge Plate Collectibles to tidy up. In reality these are used by Conductors and railroad staff to facilitate easier access for passengers between the platforms and the trains.
Both classic and modern trains from the NJ TRANSIT® fleet feature on the Morristown Line, hosting the new Train Faults feature and Conductor Mode during services in timetable mode.
New to Train Sim World is the classic Arrow III EMU. One of the staples of the Morristown Line, this train was born to run on electrified commuter routes and is also known as the Jersey Arrow. Original designs for this fleet of electric railcars date back as far as 1968, the glory days for the Pennsylvania Railroad, although the latest 3rd generation was built in 1977.
The metal body is evocative of many other classic, American trains from history, adorned only with the NJ TRANSIT® logo and stripes plus the American flag near the cab. Hoboken Division Arrow IIIs are denoted by a 25K sticker adorned on each cab end, meaning they are setup for 25kV use, as opposed to Newark Division’s 12kV electrification.
The rudimentary cab makes this train a little tougher than the rest, with simpler controls that demand a change in approach to operating other US trains and locomotives. There is no reverser in the Arrow III cab – simply a handle that turns clockwise for forwards to the left of the engineer’s position and a brake to the right!
Also included is the modern, electric ALP-46 locomotive with MultiLevel coaches and cab car. These trains offer push-pull express runs out of New York Penn, with downbound trains hauled by the locomotive and upbound trains led by the Commuter Cab Car.
This locomotive gives experienced Train Sim World players the chance to learn the route with familiar traction, having previously been seen in the NEC: New York – Trenton route Add-on.
The MultiLevel Coaches will offer Conductor Mode gameplay and be the place for players to experience the brand-new, in-game passenger announcements, adding a further level of immersion to the Morristown Line experience, along with the adaptive passenger ambience effects, determined by passenger levels inside each coach.
Should players wish, Passenger Announcements will also be available to toggle on in the cab of the ALP-46 and ALP-45DP locomotives.
At Kearney Connection, an in-cab indicator shows a changeover of voltage type. No player input is required to react to this change.
The NJ TRANSIT® ALP-46 electric locomotive is included in Train Sim World 6’s Morristown Line route. Players do not need to own previously released content to access this train.
available in Deluxe/Special Edition
Players opting for Train Sim World 6: Deluxe Edition will be able to take the helm of the brand-new ALP-45DP locomotive on services throughout the route.
The ALP-45DP is a modern and innovative locomotive that entered service in the early 2010s. Replacing ageing diesels, it is fitted with both a pantograph, and a diesel engine for dual-mode operation; this makes the loco capable of running across New Jersey’s unelectrified lines.
In-game this changeover takes place for both AI and playable trains at Newark Broad Street. A sequence of tasks whilst stationary in service will allow the player to switch from diesel to electric and vice versa in a similar manner to how the Class 395 Javelin service operate at Ebbsfleet Internation on the UK Southeastern Highspeed route (albeit between different electric modes, rather than diesel).
The changeover is dealt with here, as Hoboken Terminal has a copper-lined roof and the raising of pantographs in real life brings with it the very real risk of arcing.
Signage is in place around the route ahead of Newark Broad Street to denote the changeover of power.
Unlike the ALP-46, the ALP-45DP is only a single-cab locomotive to make room inside for two turbocharged V12 engines, which combined are able to push and pull commuter trains away from the wires with 4200 horsepower under the hood. When making use of overhead wires, the ALP-45 can draw power from both the Morristown Division’s 25kV wires, and Newark’s 12kV setup, allowing them to operate to and from both Hoboken Terminal and New York Penn Station.
Conductor Mode will be available using the same coaches and cab car hauled by the ALP-46 locomotive. With the ALP-45DP also working real-world services to Trenton, NJ, players with the NEC: New York – Trenton route Add-on may also wish to spawn the locomotive there in timetable mode.
The ALP-45DP loco Add-on will be available to purchase separately once Train Sim World 6 has released on 30th September.
Included for all Train Sim World 6 players (including Free Starter Pack players) is an unbranded SD40-2 locomotive in Training Center. This locomotive is not used in Morristown Line, but can be spawned in Free Roam on the route if desired.
Its inclusion allows new players of USA content to get familiar with American train operations.
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.
Temporary Speed Restriction signs will appear beside the track to give a visual indication of where speed restrictions start and end.
The HUD will also react to these restrictions, giving you a clearer guide as to when you need to slow down to comply with the restrictions.
Signal Delays in particular will require engineers to keep alert and adapt to any aspects that aren’t typical of that section. You might be waitin’ on a sunny day as changes slowly begin to affect the schedule and if you should fall behind, further signals down the line might compound the affect on your service.
This will be particularly important for those playing with ATC, ACSES and Alerter safety systems enabled.
You can find out more about these in our previous Features Article.
The types of services available to operate in service mode include:
Newark Division trains using the ALP-46 and Arrow III that run onto the Northeast Corridor. There are also depot movements to Sunnyside Yard included.
Hoboken Division trains using the Arrow III that run to Summit and Dover, including Hoboken–Gladstone services running as far Dover.
ALP-46 services running New York Penn to Dover, with some services going to Hoboken.
Loco-hauled ALP-45DP services running from Hoboken to Dover, then travelling out of the map to destinations at Denville, Mount Olive, Lake Hopatcong and Hackettstown (Deluxe Edition / ALP-45DP players only).
With the ALP-45DP, Hoboken - Dover services are split in two. From Hoboken to Newark Broad Street these services will run on diesel power. Players will then switch to electric and continue the rest of journey to Dover under OHLE power.
AI Arrow III services, representing the 12kV trains, will be running in and out of the map at New York Penn, but will not encroach onto the Morristown Line.
All of the above are included in a schedule covering all times of day, including the night shift meaning once you’re up to speed with the controls of the new trains, you can prove it all night!
Additional playable and AI layers will be available for players with the following TSW: Compatible Add-ons:
Playable ACS-64 depot movements using NEC: New York-Trenton
Playable Amtrak’s Acela® depot moves
AI services at New York Penn using both of the above Add-ons
AI traffic from LIRR Commuter at New York Penn
We initially alluded to the existence of AI or Static freight layers in a previous article. We regret that these have not been implemented into the schedule for launch.
Players with Sand Patch Grade can consider using Free Roam to spawn and operate CSX freight trains and switching operations in yards that exist on the route.
Get prepared by grabbing some of the relevant Add-ons to activate layers on Steam! These discounts are available until 1800 BST on 22nd 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).
No additional AI service layers will appear in the schedule for these platforms. All ALP-46 services have been removed. The ALP-46 will still be available to play in Scenarios.
A total of 8 Scenarios are available in Morristown Line: 5 for the route and 3 more with the ALP-45DP in Deluxe Edition. These are set in a range of times and weather conditions, with ALP-45DP Scenarios utilizing both diesel and electric power modes.
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, with USA guests Brandon and Eddie from 1800 UTC on Wednesday 17th September on YouTube and Twitch.
Gary Dolzall is a lifelong American railfan, author and part of the High Iron Simulations team. Tomorrow, we'll be posting an additional article that looks back at the history of the Morristown Line and how NJ TRANSIT® moved from their classic EMUs, through to modern, powerful electric locomotives.
If you can’t wait to become part of the action, remember that you can pre-order Train Sim World 6 now on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Epic Games Store, and Steam!
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.
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