SubwaySim 2 News

Historic Stations and Important Details

This week, we’d like to show you a few more stations in Berlin, many of which you haven’t seen yet. We’ll be diving into a bit of Berlin’s history while also touching on an important gameplay element. But let’s take it step by step.

[h2]Onkel Toms Hütte[/h2]

Let’s start at Onkel Toms Hütte station. Located on the U3 line, it is the second station after Krumme Lanke, situated in a rather suburban area. Opened in 1929, the station became the heart of the surrounding Onkel Tom estate. It was named after a nearby popular restaurant, which in turn was inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe’s famous novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Although the restaurant is long gone, the station and a nearby street still carry its historic name.

[h2]Oskar-Helene-Heim[/h2]

Next, we move to the Oskar-Helene-Heim station, which follows Onkel Toms Hütte on the route towards Warschauer Straße. Once again, the station is named after a nearby institution – this time, it's the Oskar-Helene Home for the Treatment and Education of Disabled Children. The facility itself was named after its founders, Oskar Pintsch and his wife Helene. Although the home closed years ago, the station name still serves as a reminder of its legacy.

[h2]Freie Universität (Thielplatz)[/h2]

Moving another station further, we arrive at Freie Universität (Thielplatz), previously known as just Thielplatz until 2016. This station has its own historical significance, having served as the terminus of the line from 1913 to 1929. In its earlier years, it also featured a train shed, which has since been decommissioned.

[h2]Görlitzer Bahnhof[/h2]

Now, let’s take a bigger leap along the route to the section shared by the U1 and U3 lines, right in the heart of Berlin. The proximity to the city centre is reflected in the station architecture, which is much grander and more elegant compared to those in the suburbs.

By the way, do you remember the Emmaus Church we introduced back in September? When travelling towards Warschauer Straße, the church is perfectly visible from the station.

[h2]An Important Detail: Stop Markers[/h2]

While enjoying the impressive scenery, don’t forget to keep your eyes on the tracks! Unlike in Hamburg, stop positions at Berlin's stations are not always the same. To ensure precise stopping, stations are equipped with special signs indicating the correct stop position depending on train length. Whether your train has 2, 4, 6, or 8 cars, the corresponding sign will guide you. Precise stopping is well worth it in SubwaySim 2: the closer you stop to the designated marker, the better your score. But more on that another time.

All aboard - join us to gain deeper insights into the world of SubwaySim 2 over the next few weeks and months!

[h2]About SubwaySim 2[/h2]

SubwaySim 2 has been announced in August 2024 and is currently in development. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll be giving you insights into the game, its development process, and the new features. Feel free to share your feedback in the Steam Discussions, join our Discord server, and follow us on Instagram. Be sure to add SubwaySim 2 to your Steam wishlist so you don’t miss any updates!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2707070/SubwaySim_2/

Note: This is a work-in-progress version of the game. All screenshots and videos shown are for preview purposes only and are not representative of the final product. Please feel free to share your feedback in the Steam Discussions if you like what you see or notice any specific issues!

A Look At Hamburg's Station Improvements!

After last week's post about the Berlin route, today we’re heading back to Hamburg. This time, we’re giving you a sneak peek at the improvements we've made to the stations.

[h2]Major Station Upgrades[/h2]

As we’ve mentioned before, for the Hamburg route in SubwaySim 2, we have completely re-laid all tracks using our newly developed railway track system. As a consequence of these changes to the track layout within stations, we had to manually adjust all platforms in the game. This presented the perfect opportunity to enhance the stations by adding accessibility ramps where applicable and giving many of them a significant facelift.

[h2]Schlump Station[/h2]

One prime example of these improvements is Schlump station. As a key interchange with the U2 line, there is much to discover in real life - and now in the game too. Let’s take a look at how the station appeared in the original SubwaySim Hamburg:

At this location in real life, stairs lead down to the U2 platform. During the station facelift for SubwaySim 2, we’ve added the missing staircase – even thought it remains non-functional in the game for now.

[h2]A Crucial Detail[/h2]

One important feature had been missing from our stations until now – the emergency signal. Unlike most other signals, the emergency signal is not linked to the control centre or track occupancy detection system, but is directly connected to the emergency call point on the platform. When a passenger pulls the call point's emergency brake, the emergency signal starts flashing red, instructing approaching trains to stop before entering the platform.

Previously, this feature was implemented at just one station in the game. With the recent station upgrades, we’ve now added it to every single platform, opening up exciting new gameplay possibilities – more on that in the coming weeks.

About Stations and Siding Tracks

We hope your New Year Is off to a great start! And what an exciting year lies ahead of us for all SubwaySim fans... ;-)

For our first post of 2025, we’re taking a closer look at two stations in Berlin: Breitenbachplatz and Uhlandstraße. Both stations resemble the uniqueness and charm of the Berlin U-Bahn system and are likely familiar spots to many of you.

[h2]Breitenbachplatz[/h2]

Breitenbachplatz, located on the U3 line, is a true classic among Berlin U-Bahn stations. With its impressive architecture and historic charm, we’ve gone to great lengths to recreate this station as authentically as possible.

What makes Breitenbachplatz interesting from a railway operations perspective, are the adjacent siding tracks, which play a vital role in short-run services and overnight train storage. The station features four turning tracks in total – two towards Krumme Lanke and another two towards Wittenbergplatz. Of course, all of them are fully functional in the game.

[h2]Uhlandstraße[/h2]

Next, we move to Uhlandstraße, the western terminus of the U1. This station has its own unique character. Though relatively small, its prime location in the heart of Charlottenburg, directly beneath the famous Kurfürstendamm, gives it special significance.

As a terminus, its siding tracks are always in use, with several trains stored here overnight. Thanks to four tracks in total, there’s plenty of space for operations. You can experience all of this up close in SubwaySim 2.

[h2]A Behind-the-Scenes Look[/h2]

Recreating the many stations in SubwaySim 2 as authentically as possible has been one of the biggest challenges during development. Many stations are visually unique and located on curves. Our goal has been to faithfully represent not just the architecture but also the operational workflows. As such, we’ve placed particular emphasis on accurately recreating the siding tracks.

Merry Christmas - Full Of Surprises!

We are wishing you all a wonderful merry Christmas! To celebrate this festive season, we have several surprises for you that will delight fans of the Hamburg U-Bahn. Plus, we’re taking a look at a long-awaited project and its exciting progress.

[h2]A Big Surprise[/h2]

Our special Christmas surprise this year: Hamburg's Hellbrookstraße Main Workshop will finally be included in SubwaySim 2! This has been on both your wishlist and ours for quite some time. Located near Barmbek station, this is where Hamburg Hochbahn AG trains are serviced and repaired. In addition to 28 workshop tracks for maintenance, the facility features a large yard with numerous sidings. The outdoor area includes 21 tracks, all fully usable in SubwaySim 2, with enough space to park up to three DT5 trains on some of them.

Thanks to our new track system, introduced in our last posting, we were finally able to design the depot in SubwaySim 2 as we had envisioned. With accurately modelled crossings and triple switches, there are many details to explore.

In the game, the main workshop Bba will play a significant role: some trains will be parked here overnight after their last journey, and some services will start here in the morning. The depot will also open up new possibilities for scenarios and work vehicles. Speaking of work vehicles…

[h2]Another Surprise[/h2]

If you’ve looked closely at the photos above, you may have spotted it: the AL1 battery-powered locomotive, which we had announced as a DLC some time ago. The good news: we’ve made great progress, and today, as a second big surprise, we’re sharing updated screenshots of the AL1!

The AL1 is used for vehicle transfers on the Hochbahn network, such as towing brand-new DT5 trains to the Hellbrookstraße (Bba) workshop. This sounds like the perfect scenario to recreate in SubwaySim 2!

As the name suggests, the locomotive can also operate in places where others simply can't. If the third rail, or power rail, is unavailable or deactivated, the AL1 can run on its battery – as long as it’s charged, of course. This makes the loco ideal for construction site operations, where the power is usually turned off for safety reasons. With our new track system, the power supply and battery charging will also be simulated – a fantastic feature for scenarios in SubwaySim 2.

[h2]And One More Vehicle![/h2]

Speaking of construction site operations, there’s another addition! Alongside the AL1, the same DLC will also include an LB6 cargo wagon. Just like in real life, the wagon can be used for transporting materials in SubwaySim 2 and will come with additional functionalities. But more on that later.

All these new features – and we haven’t announced them all yet – significantly enhance the AL1 DLC. The variety and gameplay possibilities in SubwaySim 2 make it much more fun and engaging. For transparency reasons, we want to point out that we had to make one adjustment to our plans: As you know, all of these features aren't yet available in SubwaySim Hamburg. But without the new track system, the depot, and the fundamentally revamped route, the AL1 DLC wouldn’t be as enjoyable as it could be. Thus, after careful consideration, we’ve decided not to release the AL1 DLC for SubwaySim Hamburg as originally planned. Instead, we will release it for SubwaySim 2, and we’re adding lots of new features to make it even more entertaining than initially envisioned.

[h3]When will it be released, and what's the price tag?[/h3]

For now, still have to ask for your patience regarding release date and price. However, we can share two things already. First, buyers of SubwaySim Hamburg will enjoy a discounted "upgrade package" for SubwaySim 2, with details yet to be announced. And second, both SubwaySim 2 and the AL1 DLC are planned for release in 2025.

[h2]What a Year – A Big Thank You![/h2]

That wraps up today’s post. We want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your incredible support in 2024. Your constructive feedback and enthusiasm motivate us to work passionately on SubwaySim 2 day by day.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a fantastic start to 2025!

Our Brand-New Track System!

Wishing You All a Wonderful Third Advent! Today, we’re excited to introduce a very important feature in SubwaySim 2: our brand-new track system. We’ve completely redesigned it from the ground up to deliver more precise track geometry, improved switches, and above all, enhanced realism.

[h2]Track Geometry, Superstructure Types, and Third Rails[/h2]

What exactly do we mean by "track geometry"? Primarily, it refers to curve radii, which we can now simulate with much greater precision. Depending on the train’s speed, curves need to be banked to reduce centrifugal force and improve passenger comfort – the train essentially “leans into” the curve. This banking, or superelevation, needs to be applied gradually before and after the curve using transition curves, which we now calculate accurately. This brings a much more authentic driving experience to the game.

To ensure the tracks also look better visually, we’ve spent a lot of time perfecting their details. SubwaySim 2 now supports various track superstructure types and third rail systems, so you’ll notice subtle differences along the route. And of course, we’ve authentically recreated the characteristic conductor rails for both the S-Bahn and U-Bahn systems.

[h2]From Simple Switches to Double-Slip Crossings[/h2]

The most exciting element of the new track system is the switches. With this overhaul, the visual representation of switches has been vastly improved. Every essential detail is now included – from switch blades and frogs to guard rails, slide chairs, and actuators.

While simple switches are procedurally generated for a perfect fit, more complex formations, such as double slip switches and crossover switches, are now possible too. These are particularly common on the Hamburg route, and with the new track system, we can finally recreate these unique configurations.

With painstaking attention to detail, we’ve hand-built ten different types of switches for the game – even though some of these specialised configurations only appear once in the entire game! But the effort is worth it: these intricately crafted switches greatly enhance the visual quality of the trackwork. See for yourself!