British Railway: A good Train Sim World alternative?

British Railway: A good Train Sim World alternative?

Have you ever wanted to play a train game with an immersive and realistic feel to it? Well, you have Train Sim World. But you don't have enough money to afford the game itself and its contents? Well as for alternatives, you have Roblox. There are loads of train games in there, and one of them is "Stepford County Railway". Sure it's a train game but it's missing something to it. REALISM. Looking for a train with enhanced realism? Well don't worry, Because here's the train game that is definitely made for you. That is "British Railway".

BRITISH RAILWAY

British Railway is a train simulator game on Roblox that is made and developed by a group called Fourth Rail. It first went into development in 2022 and was initially released to the public in the 1st of January 2023. This game, as stated on its name, is based from the United Kingdom. Since its release, it has been rapidly growing in terms of game contents and popularity to the Roblox Train Game community. The game's player count usually ranges from 200-400 or sometimes 500 players upon average daily. Every update the game has had, the numbers doubles up to around 500-1.1K daily for a certain amount of time. British Railway contains a handful of scenery, railway lines, rolling stock and areas to explore at. The latest BR update, version 1.3.3 was released on December 21, 2024, which brought us the British Rail Class 86, 4 new stations (Ive, Wallsend, Ashby-in-Kirkside & Cuffley), updated in-cab control interactions, the Weekly Item shop and various bug fixes and patch updates.

A. How to Play the game.

1. Introduction to the game.

 As a new player, the first train you get for free is the British Rail Class 142 diesel multiple unit, more known infamously as the "Pacer". The free route you get when you first join BR is the route from Freston Junction to Victoria Docks & Belmond Green.

2A. Controls
The common controls for Roblox train games is W, A, S, D. Press W  to make the train move. Spam W a few times to increase throttle for speed. Hit S to decrease throttle or to lower your train's power. A is the button to apply brakes to your train. D is to release the brakes of the train if you want to move again. A simplified throttle mode is also in game where the brakes and throttle are combined. The combined throttle & brakes are also featured on some modern train models in game like the Class 170, 171, 350 and more.

2B. Tap Changer Controls (British Rail Class 86)

The British Rail Class 86 is an electric locomotive that is built in the 1960s in real life. The train features a unique driving method, which is the Tap Changer.

RUN UP increases the notch level continuously until the notch indicator reaches full.

NOTCH UP increases the notch level by one before returning to the HOLD position.

HOLD maintains the current notch.

NOTCH DOWN decreases the notch level by one before returning to the HOLD position.

RUN DOWN decreases the notch level continuously until the notch indicator reaches OFF.

OFF rapidly decreases notch level until it the indicator is at OFF. The tap changer MAY NOT be changed until the indicator has reached the OFF position.

2C. Train Power Controls

If your train power is off, simply long press P for 3 seconds to apply the Pantograph. This feature applies to Electric Multiple Units & Electric Locomotives only. For Diesel Multiple Units, simply long press O for 3 seconds to start your engines. After enabling engines, they will have a 10 second cooldown before you can accelerate the train. This feature currently only applies to the British Rail Classes, 158 & 159 (Express Sprinter) & Classes 800, 802 & 805 (Hitachi AT300). The Classes 800, 802 & 805 also has a bi-mode feature where both diesel and electric power can be achieved. Said trains can only be driven in diesel mode on the areas where there are no overhead wires. To lower Pantograph or turn off engines, simply press P or O for 3 seconds respectively.

3. Automatic Warning System (AWS) 
The Automatic Warning System is a safety system applied to all trains in game and in real life.
It works  closely with the signalling system. When your train passes an AWS magnet, an alarm will sound to indicate if your next signal is green, yellow or red. If the AWS does sound, you need to cancel it by simply pressing Q. The AWS sound is a loud beep alarm, similar to the no signal sound or swear censor sound on your television. If you DID NOT acknowledge the AWS or simply just IGNORING it, the train's emergency brakes will be applied and will stop your train instantly. If yellow is visible on the AWS sunflower, it means that the signal is not green. If yellow is not visible and a ding sound occurs, it means the signal is clear.


B. The Gameplay itself

1A. Spawning your train and running a proper train service 

First, pick your desired train and livery applied to it. ie: Class 321 in Greater Anglia livery. After that, select a route you want to drive on. Next up is selecting a depot or siding of choice to initialize and spawn the train. Once spawned, wait for the AWS alarm to sound and press Q to cancel it. If your train doesn't have power when spawned, press P or O for 3 seconds to apply pantograph or to start your engines for power. After cancelling the AWS or enabling power, simply drive the train to a station of choice depending on the location. ie: Marden Hill TMD (spawn point) to Avonhill or Victoria Docks Sidings (spawn point) to Cuffley. Once reaching the terminus, you can pick your preferred route to drive on. ie: Freston Junction to Victoria Docks. Upon choosing your route, you will be given a time table that will estimate your arrival and departure from your station, just like in real life. ie: Scheduled arrival to Leaton is at 12:00NN and your departure is at 12:01PM. The timetable shall be followed and try keeping up to it to run a good service. Service Delays are somewhat common depending on how your service is running. ie: another train is passing, a SPAD happened, a slow train is running infront of you, etc. Stop Markers are also present throughout every station. For Example, if you're running a train with 4 carriages, kindly approach the station slowly and stop at the marker with a number of 4. If a 4 car marker is absent, kindly stop on a number that is higher than 4, like 5 or 6. If you're running a Class 800 for example, there are special markers dedicated for the 80X or AT300 fleet. It's a purple marker that says 5 (for 5 car AT300s), 9 (for 9 car AT300s) or ALL (all variants). If none of these examples are present on a station, stop at the S car stop. This marker is applicable on ALL unit consists. You are required to drive the unit of your choice until you finish the service. Once you finish your service, you can continue your route back to the start or choose a different route of your choice, or you can despawn if you're satisfied enough.

1B. Operators

There are currently 3 operators in the game. These are Regional, InterCity & Shuttle.

REGIONAL provides stopping and semifast services throughout the map. The longest route you can do is the Cuffley loop that goes via Broomfield. This operator is good for grinding, especially for being a guard

INTERCITY provides long distance skipping services along the map. Connecting Avonhill, Belmond Green and Victoria Docks to places such as Mill Bridge, Leaton, Norrington & Cuffley. Before v1.3.1, the terminus of InterCity services in the Victoria Coast line was Newhurst.

SHUTTLE is a short distance service connecting Longbow with Victoria Docks, Victoria Harbour & Fayre. Before v1.3.1, Shuttle services also went to Newhurst. The only rolling stock available to run this service is the British Rail Class 153 "Super Sprinter". Only 2 Shuttle trains can be ran per server.

2. Points

This game contains points. Upon every departure from a station, you get 10 points per successful stop. Being Delayed does not deduct you points. Stopping at more stations will give you more points. Once you reach your final destination, you will be granted 20 points for finishing the service. For finishing a service, those points will be exchanged with a certain amount of coins, depending on how many stops your service took. ie: Cuffley loop via Broomfield for 607 in-game coins. Coins can be bought using Robux as well.

There are also negative effects if you did excessive things while running your service. For overspeeding, you will be apprehended with a deduction of 1 point. For passing a signal at red, or a SPAD (Signal Passed at Danger), 3 points will be deducted. Doing any of these even with 0 points, you will get a score in the negatives. ie -1 points for overspeeding; 0 if ran normally. The more points you lose, the lesser the rewards you get at the end of the service

3A. Signal Aspects

In game (and in real life), signals are present on railway lines to ensure safety and efficiency of train services. These are found throughout the map to indicate whether a proceeding section is occupied by  another train or not. These signals work similarly to Traffic Lights.

GREEN (Proceed) indicates that the next section of the line for you is clear. The following signal can be another green or a double yellow.

DOUBLE YELLOW (Preliminary Caution) indicates that the next section of the line is clear but a warning may be approaching afterwards. Reduced speed is recommended after approaching this signal as the next is more likely to be a SINGLE YELLOW.

SINGLE YELLOW (Caution) indicates that the next section is clear. A significantly reduced signal is recommended when passing this signal as the next is more likely to be a RED.

RED (Danger) indicates that the next section is occupied by another train. The driver is REQUIRED to STOP at all costs to avoid a SPAD (Signal Passed at Danger). Your train must stop near the signal until the signal changes to single yellow. Passing a signal at red results to a SPAD. A SPAD will deduct the player 3 points and the emergency brake will be applied to stop the train instantly.
In real life, getting a SPAD can sometimes result to serious accidents such as the Ladbroke Grove crash of 1997 where a BR Class 165 Networker Turbo collided with a Class 43 HST resulting to a serious accident.

3B. Feather & Route Indicator Signals

 A feather signal is used to indicate which route the train will take through a junction that is often paired with a color light signal. If the diagonal light is unlit, the train will not diverge to a different line. This often happens to trains running along the mainline. If the diagonal light is lit, the train will diverge to a different line. This usually happens along Leaton where most trains go to different locations using those junctions near the station. The feather will not illuminate if the signal is at red, even if your train is diverging.
 

3C. Banner Repeaters & OFF indicators.

 A banner repeater are also found on various locations along the map. These indicate whether the next signal is a Green, Yellow or Red. If the line is rotated at 45 degrees, it means the line is clear or good to pass through. If it's in Horizontal, it means the following signal is at RED and you shall stop immediately to avoid SPADing. OFF indicators are used to aid guards and are used to determine if the following signal is clear. If OFF is illuminated, it means that you are clear to go. If it's not illuminated, you are not clear to depart. OFF indicators are only seen at Abbey Road at the moment.

4. Guarding

Guard mode is a role that makes sure the pickup and drop-off of passengers are safe, as well as departing and arriving from a station safely. The player shall choose a train to guard first before starting. It's either a driver plying Regional, InterCity or Shuttle. Upon spawning on the train of your choice, you can walk freely inside the train. You will also notice that there are also NPC passengers inside the train and have ticket icons over them. You have the option to check them if their ticket is valid for the day they took the train. Checking tickets can give you bonus points.

Once the train is stopped at a station, kindly go to a door in the vestibules. Once you found the indicator to press a button, simply press F to open guard panel. After opening guard panel, kindly press U to unlock the guard panel, then press R to open local door and T to release passenger doors to commence loading and unloading.

After the loading and unloading process, kindly press and hold H for at least 3-5 seconds to whistle and press T to close doors immediately while finishing the whistle cue. After the doors close, press and hold H for at 3 seconds and press R to close local door afterwards. After the local door closes, kindly press Y to enable the signal bell. This alarms the driver that it is now safe to depart from the station. It takes at least a few seconds or instantly for the driver to reply.

5. Challenge Mode

In the menu, there is a mode called "Challenge Mode". You will spawn as a passenger in this mode at a random location and the goal is to get to a various location by riding a train at a various time. ie: get to Osidge Hill from Longbow. Once you complete the challenge, you will be given a reward of coins, depending on the distance of your journey.

6. Coins

Coins are the main currency in game. These are used to buy and unlock more routes, trains, train liveries and such contents with a given amount. ie: Class 86 for 3000 in-game points. You can obtain coins in various ways such as simply driving a train and finishing a service, guarding and challenge mode. Coins can also be bought using Robux.

7. Weekly Items

Weekly Items are limited-time items that only appear for one week in the shop. They usually consist of special, unique or heritage liveries or consists.

A new item is released every saturday at 12:00 midnight GMT.

C. Advantages

 1. Driving a Regional Service with more stops grants you more points. The more points, the more coins you can grind.

2. Realism. The realistic and advanced features can give the game an immersive and fun experience.

3. The more you play the game, the more that you'll get used to the immersive game features.

4. You can explore various places by train.

5. Guarding a long Regional Service in its entirety can yield over 1000 coins depending on the route and frequency of passengers.

6. Smaller map, Less lag. Its rival train game, Stepford County Railway has a larger map and server size, usually prone to lag and crashes. BR has a lower player count and a slightly smaller map.

7. If you buy a special item from the weekly shop, you keep them forever. One of the main reasons why players grind for points.

D. Disadvantages

1. Realism. Sometimes, new players find it hard to adjust with the advanced gameplay and physics, resulting to slow runs, overshooting stations and SPADing.

2. Time management. Some services, often Regional ones can take over an hour to complete.

3. Players sometimes rejects your request whenever you want to guard a train.

4. Minimal amount of content. Grinding for points is the main appeal for players to play the game and to buy new trains and routes, but usually they're relatively easy. Due to BR's minimal contents as the game is only around 2 years old as of 2025, players may buy at least most, if not, all items if they have played long enough. If they do buy all of it, there won't be that much fun anymore and players tend to get bored because of this.

4. Noobs. Some new players tend to just goof around and drive like they don't care without them noticing that they are making some experienced players somewhat upset for having priority over them. Often happens when a Class 142 goes first over an InterCity service.

5. Poor Signalling Systems. This is a common problem in the game where usually, the wrong train gets priority over the one that actually needs it.

6. Low passenger count on InterCity services. This is usually a problem for guards who prefers to work on InterCity over Regional. Low passenger count = lower chances of getting bonus points. This combined with the low amount of stops per InterCity service can lead to minimal amounts of points; thus making the role and operator not suitable for grinding.

E. Personal Experience & Conclusion

At first, it was hard. I usually just peek to look at the game and usually never return again but since I tried to complete a service, it all changed from there. I got the hang of how to deal with the realism, the graphics and even the gameplay itself. It was fun and sometimes stressful but here we go, a pro at the game. The fun truly began as I bought more trains and routes to explore and to try out. It was a great experience overall and I hope that Fourth Rail gives this game more life and more good things for the players

British Railway is indeed, a train simulator game on Roblox. It has an immersive and semi-realistic feel to it but it's not really on the same level as Train Sim World. It's in Roblox after all so whatever. But this sure is a great alternative for it. And you can play this for free! Go give it a try now! Join their Discord server now too for more updates and sneak peeks regarding the game.

PLAY NOW!: https://www.roblox.com/games/10082031223/British-Railway
JOIN THEIR DISCORD SERVER: https://discord.com/channels/976609439153004624