Train Sim World 7 Early Access Hands-On: Florida Tri-Rail and a Railroad Adventure

A Sponsored Video That Turned Into a Real Game Experience

Train Sim World 7 has officially launched into Early Access, developed by Dovetail Games. This piece is based on a sponsored video hosted by Lewis and Boba, who recounted their experience riding a real Heritage Railway near Bristol, England, while also diving into the simulator's new content.

Worth noting: this Early Access build includes a free Starter Edition. According to the two hosts, if you've previously purchased content from any prior Train Sim World entry, those DLCs carry over — they mentioned still having Thomas the Tank Engine and the old West Somerset Railway content. This kind of backward compatibility is a genuinely friendly gesture toward returning players.

Three New Routes: From the Yorkshire Dales to a German High-Speed Line

The Early Access build features three brand-new routes spanning different regions and difficulty levels.

Yorkshire Dales

The first is the Yorkshire Dales route, covering the Airedale to Wharfedale segment. The hosts repeatedly praised the area's scenic beauty and distinctly northern English character, and noted some atmosphere-driven mission design (the video mentions a narrative scene where "as the clock approaches midnight, something feels off").

Bahnstrecke Nürnberg

The second is a highly anticipated German route: Nürnberg–Würzburg. The game labels it as "for experienced players," meaning the operations and signaling systems are considerably more complex — firmly in advanced territory.

The Nürnberg–Würzburg line is a high-speed Neubaustrecke opened by Deutsche Bundesbahn in 1991, designed for speeds up to 280 km/h. It was one of Germany's first two high-speed rail lines (the other being Hannover–Würzburg), and required extensive tunnels and viaducts to cross the rugged Franconian terrain — an engineering feat of world-class difficulty at the time. In simulation terms, the line's complexity primarily stems from the LZB (Linienzugbeeinflussung, or Continuous Automatic Train Protection) signaling system — an onboard continuous cab signaling system that displays permitted and target speeds to the driver on a second-by-second basis, very different from the trackside signal gantry systems common in the UK or US. This is the core reason the game flags it as "for experienced players."

Florida Tri-Rail

The third route is the star of this video — Florida's Tri-Rail commuter line. Players drive from Boca Raton all the way to Miami, stopping at real stations including Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Fort Lauderdale Airport, Hollywood, and Hialeah Market. The route's most entertaining feature is a "race the plane" scenario — the train competes against an aircraft departing from Boca Raton, giving it a distinctly Top Gear-style energy.

Simplified Controls and Early Access Limitations

One clear characteristic of the Early Access build: there are currently no driving tutorials. The two hosts had to figure things out from experience. That said, the game introduces a "simple train driving process" to help newcomers get up to speed quickly.

From their trial-and-error, the basic keyboard controls are roughly: A to apply power, D or semicolon for braking, with manual control of the Reverser for forward/reverse direction. Throughout the video, the pair repeatedly forgot to turn on headlights, set the Reverser in the wrong direction, or overshot stations due to late braking — all of which actually highlights how faithfully the simulator recreates operational details. Headlights, passenger boarding and alighting, speed limit signs, red warning signals — players need to manage all of it.

One amusing moment: the automated female voice announcing stations prompted a running joke about whether that job had already been replaced by machines. It also reflects the real operational workflow the simulator aims to recreate — station announcements, stop briefings, and "please mind the gap and hold on" audio prompts are all faithfully reproduced.

Dynamic Weather and the Hurricane Scenario

The game emphasizes a live weather system, where changing conditions directly affect the feel and atmosphere of each route. For the Florida line, this means that beyond standard sunny weather, there's a dramatically scripted hurricane scenario.

In this scenario, players take on the role of an engineer who must, before a hurricane makes landfall, stop at designated points along the route and manually remove level crossing barriers to prevent them from being blown away by the wind. The hosts were hilariously flustered trying to pull this off — repeatedly overshooting stop points, toggling the Reverser back and forth, and watching cars pass through an unprotected crossing after they'd removed the barriers, joking "that is not safe at all." Despite the clumsy execution, the scenario is genuinely more challenging and immersive than a standard commuter run, and demonstrates Dovetail Games' ambition to simulate real operational procedures — including extreme weather response.

The Real Heritage Railway Interlude

The video intersperses the gameplay footage with the hosts' real-life outing on a British heritage railway. Because the UK was experiencing a prolonged drought and heatwave at the time, fire risk warnings had grounded the usual steam locomotives, and the railway substituted a Diesel Shunter instead. These types of locomotives are extremely common on UK heritage railways, largely because they were produced in enormous quantities historically.

While only loosely related to the game itself, this segment provides a fascinating backdrop — Train Sim World is simulating these very real vehicles and lines, each carrying genuine railway culture and history. The hosts mentioned that most passengers on board were railfans who actively asked about locomotive models and horsepower, and even sparked a conversation about the phrase "resistance is futile" (a Borg quote from Star Trek) stenciled on the cab. That kind of real-world enthusiasm is, in some ways, the whole reason simulator games like this exist.

A Heritage Railway is a historical rail line operated by volunteer groups or preservation organizations, with the core mission of preserving and showcasing retired steam locomotives, vintage rolling stock, and historical railway culture. The UK is one of the most heritage-railway-dense countries in the world, with over 100 such lines — including the West Somerset Railway, one of England's longest at roughly 35 kilometers. These railways typically rely on enthusiast volunteers for day-to-day operations and are open to the public. Their historical and nostalgic character means a significant proportion of their ridership consists of railfans with a keen interest in locomotive types, eras, and mechanical details — which explains why the hosts encountered passengers asking about horsepower and model numbers. Train Sim World's inclusion of multiple heritage railway lines is, at its core, a way of translating the cultural passion of a niche hobby community into an interactive digital experience.

Wrap-Up

Train Sim World 7's Early Access build delivers a surprisingly rich introductory package: a free Starter Edition, backward-compatible DLCs, three stylistically diverse new routes (Yorkshire Dales, Nürnberg–Würzburg, Florida Tri-Rail), a live weather system, and scenario missions including a hurricane response. The simplified driving process lowers the barrier to entry, though the lack of tutorials and the rough edges of an early build remain clear shortcomings in the current version.

As the hosts put it, Train Sim World is fundamentally about "enjoying the journey, not the destination." Whether you prefer the unhurried pace of the English countryside, the technical demands of a German high-speed corridor, or you'd simply rather not drive a train through a Florida hurricane — this simulator offers enough variety for everyone.