pak64 rail transport after 1990: a proposal

[Nazalassa]

pak64 seems empty after 1990 - there are the X2000 and the ICE TD, after that the Pantheress and the Tigresses, but they do not reflect much the real-world situation - there are no high-speed trains until the (fictional) Pantheress, and I suspect the ICE TD has a much higher speed than its real-life counterpart because of this lack of high-speed trains.

As such I made some more trains, including high-speed ones: a TGV for the 1990-2010 period, running at 320 km/h, and an ICE for the 2010+ period, at 330 km/h.

There are several options for including them in pak64; the main difference is in the speed, intro date and cost of the TGV.

• TGVs could be introduced in the 1990s, and go up to 320 km/h, making them very fast compared to the previous fastest trains (X2000s, 220 km/h). Thus they would be very expensive. Eventually the ICE would come as a cheaper alternative. This would result in a very steep max speed increase.
• TGVs could be introduced in the 1990s, and be limited to 270 km/h (as were the first TGVs), making them less expensive. The ICE would then have a speed in the range 320-330 km/h, making it the next generation of high-speed trains, rather than a cheaper alternative to the TGV. This would make the speed increase more gradual. Speed bonus could be modified to better adapt to the new speeds.
• Same as the previous option, but TGVs are introduced in the late 1980s - early 1990s (a bit earlier). The ICE would then come around 2005 instead.

Note that this means the ICE TD can be brought closer to its real-life counterpart. I would suggest a top speed of 225 km/h, intro date around 2004, and comparable to X2000s in cost (or a bit cheaper).

What is your point of view on this? I'd rather ask before modifying pak64 too deeply.

[Andarix]

It is important to note the difference in speed between passenger and freight transport.

The higher you set the speed bonus, the greater the impact on freight transport revenue. I believe the maximum speed in freight transport is 160 km/h for a few vehicles. Most are slower than that.

Therefore, consideration should be given to separating the speed bonus for passenger and freight transport.

[prissi]

I think now that a good part of the world's high speed traffic is happening in China, if we go for real trains, maybe include a Chinese one? There are also 360 speed options there ...

[FLN]

I'd like to insert a visualization I had made a while ago, of the current max speeds of pax trains,
to help illustrate the status quo.
Also note the included contemporary speed bonus reference and available track speeds.

[FLN]

Now. Also visualizing the proposed options, different aspects become very obvious very quickly, in my opinion.

Option 1:	Options 2+3:
	For simplicity I combined option 2 and 3 in to one variant.

• In option 1 the max speed increase is in deed very steep.
• In variant 2 this rise is much more gradual.
• The X2000 actually is an economic mid-range intercity train, and not a high-end high-speed train.
• Pantheress and Tigress should favorably be introduces much later.

Speedbonus:
 

Speed bonus could be modified to better adapt to the new speeds.

It is important to note the difference in speed between passenger and freight transport.

Am I right, to assume, you mean not necessarily to further rise the speedbonus reference speed but to stretch it's rise throughout the 2000s? Especially in regard of probably postponing the introduction of Pantheress & co.?

Real high-speed trains:
 

if we go for real trains, maybe include a Chinese one? There are also 360 speed options there ...

This is a very good point.
I must admit, that I wonder, whether if Pantheress and possibly 'Tigress I' better would be replaced out the set by such a newcomer or rather should get further modified, beyond the introduction date?
Please note, that I don't principally want any vehicle to get kicked out the set, but having to much redundant vehicles would in my opinion only clutter the nice and lean inventory ok pak64.

[Nazalassa]

(...)
Speedbonus:
Am I right, to assume, you mean not necessarily to further rise the speedbonus reference speed but to stretch it's rise throughout the 2000s? Especially in regard of probably postponing the introduction of Pantheress & co.?

It is important to note the difference in speed between passenger and freight transport.

The higher you set the speed bonus, the greater the impact on freight transport revenue. I believe the maximum speed in freight transport is 160 km/h for a few vehicles. Most are slower than that.

I am (indeed) rather thinking of moving the 180 km/h node from 2020 to 2030. That would (among others) attenuate the "TGV effect" you mentionned here.
The thing is, speed bonus going from 140 km/h to 180 km/h over 13 years is very steep; fast trains which have very little margin will lose it quickly. Making the increase last 23 years instead may make it more gentle.

Also, a speed bonus of around 160-180 km/h means 360 km/h trains will generate a lot of money, and so their costs must also be high, which means they have a low margin - they need to be (almost) full to generate significant profit. (Alternately, they may generate lots of money when full.) So far, this is more or less the situation of the 320 km/h TGV (addon) in the 2000s. One possibility would be to add trains in the range of 300 km/h for fast service, and 360 km/h ones (even faster?) as trains with the potential to generate a lot of money, but which are challenging to use because they need to be kept full.
For example, an ICE 3 would be of the first kind (300-320 km/h) whereas a chinese high-speed train would be of the second kind: faster, but more challenging.

Of course, the maximum speed bonus can also be increase, but as mentionned it may hurt regional and freight trains. Faster freight wagons may be a good idea anyway.

Real high-speed trains:
This is a very good point.
I must admit, that I wonder, whether if Pantheress and possibly 'Tigress I' better would be replaced out the set by such a newcomer or rather should get further modified, beyond the introduction date?
Please note, that I don't principally want any vehicle to get kicked out the set, but having to much redundant vehicles would in my opinion only clutter the nice and lean inventory ok pak64.

Since Pantheress and Tigresses are fictional, I think they should be introduced in the future, i.e 2030-2035, so maybe push back their intro dates? Also perhaps redo their balance, as (except for the Tigress II maybe) they are not efficient at all. If a real-life 360 km/h train is introduced, it would go as fast as the Pantheress and the Tigress II though, so maybe they could gain in speed (380, 410, 450 km/h instead of 336, 360, 448 km/h). Or be completely replaced (and compat.tab updated accordingly).

[prissi]

The Tigress was in the very first version of Simutrans, so I would like to keep them. Setting later dates and a less steep speed bonus sounds like a good idea. When it was set in 2006 or so, 2025 was totally the future and noone would use this as a possible start year ... So maybe Panthress fro 2030 and Tigress 2060?