Cardiff City Network — route add-on review

March is proving to be a bumper month for Train Sim World 5, with major add-ons releasing week after week. The springtime sprint has already brought us the London Overground: Mildmay line and Thomas & Friends™, with Spoorlijn Zwolle—Groningen still to come. Last Tuesday, it was the Cardiff City Network route add-on making its way to the simulator, for the series' first foray into Wales.

The Cardiff City Network was developed and published by Dovetail Games, and features 20 miles of track in and around the Welsh capital, between Radur & Coryton and Penarth & Bae Caerdydd. Bundled in are two trains: the Class 150 (seen previously in West Cornwall Local) and Class 153 (new to TSW), which makes for over 500 playable services. At first glance, it's a similar offering to the highly praised Cathcart Circle Line, which I have thoroughly enjoyed since its release in 2021. Both are commuter-focused routes set in urban hotspots of Wales and Scotland respectively, well suited to bitesize play sessions. So, going into testing, I had high hopes for this DLC.

However, the route introduction was underwhelming. An unenthused AI voice tells you some things about the route and collectibles, then you hop on a train and that's about it. Cardiff was also described as being in the Eastern United Kingdom. A friend reminded me that Cardiff is about as east as Edinburgh (strange to think, though true), but given that Wales has the whole of England to its right, I'm not buying it, and I think it's an embarrassing mistake. I'm not saying that route introductions need to be anything special, but it is what players see first and I would like to at least feel somewhat excited by the end of it. That said, in terms of the bigger picture, it took five minutes of my time, and while uninteresting, did not dampen my enjoyment of the rest of the route. So, let's move on.

The driving experience will be very familiar if you've played other UK routes. Indeed, signalling, speed limits, and safety systems (e.g., AWS/TPWS, vigilance, DRA, etc.) work the same way they do across the rest of Great Britain. No problems there. But the driving experience is obviously much more than this — there are the trains, of course:

The Class 153 is not a multiple unit, it is just the one coach, yet it is the star of the show. The in-game model is intricate, true to its real-world counterpart, and looks superb in Transport for Wales's white and red livery. The unit's sounds are throaty and powerful, some of the best in the simulator, and do well to capture the character of the diesel railcar. Then there's the sounds of the various switches, buttons, and levers in the cab, which are clean (almost satisfyingly so). Suffice to say, I was impressed — this might be one of the best trains in the game.

By comparison, the Class 150 — brought over from the West Cornwall Local route — is the supporting act. It has been tweaked since its debut in 2022, though you can tell it's an older model, particularly around the headlights, coupler, and undercarriage. The sounds are a little shallower with a little less oomph, and the horn audio occasionally clips, which is a tad off-putting. However, if you don't care so much for the intricacies, it's somewhat easy to miss the differences between it and the 153. In other words, it's not glaringly worse (except maybe in the eyes — and ears — of a hardcore enthusiast), but it is worse. Still, I was pleased to see it included for variety's sake. And it is nonetheless solid enough.

The Class 153 is formed of one car, the Class 150 of two, but both have services formed of double sets (i.e., two units coupled together). Both types of train include the new suspension system that we have come to expect from the latest generation of Train Sim World. It goes a long way towards making you feel as though you are there in the driver's seat, often working in tandem with sound, for example when crossing track points.

During my testing, I covered more ground in service mode, operating end-to-end services within the timetable. That said, I did complete the 'Bay Blockage' scenario. As is standard for TSW add-ons, there are five scenarios packaged with the route (journeys with pre-determined objectives and events). Now, I chose this one as players on the forum had reported issues about getting stuck behind a red signal, but thankfully I did not encounter this. There's a lot of switching between cabs in this scenario, and I quite enjoyed the run. Cardiff is fun to drive around in the snow, it turns out. I also tested conductor mode, which works well on a route like this with frequent stops, but I never heard the driver buzz back as you would expect them to in real life. Otherwise, I enjoyed it far more here than I have on other routes, where you could be waiting 10 or 15 minutes between stops.

Where I can, I like to play with the heads up display (HUD) disabled. That means no information about upcoming stations, signal aspects, and speed limits, other than what you can get from the line side signals and signs. When you take the plunge (F1 on keyboard; hold options/menu on controller), it can be a rewarding way to play the game. Not to mention the added immersion. The Cardiff City Network lends itself nicely to HUD-less gameplay, as it is an easy route to learn — your journeys will be slow-paced for the most part and never above 75 mph. I wasn't overwhelmed by speed limit changes and signals either. My advice: just pay attention to AWS, and you'll be fine. I do wish we could increase the in-cab field of view without mods, though, to make it easier to see the gauges while looking straight out the window. Alas, that is more of a suggestion for the core game than this DLC in particular.

Admittedly, I haven't been to Cardiff in a long time, so I quite frankly can't tell you whether driving the City Network feels as though you're in the capital. I can, however, comment more generally on the implementation of scenery and foliage, and this is on par with other route add-ons. I encountered a few minor issues with assets clipping through fences beside the tracks, as well as compression artefacts on some station signage — primarily platform numbers — but it is otherwise a pleasant experience driving end-to-end. The short stretch between Central and Queen Street stations is certainly the highlight, mind you, with the River Taff, Principality Stadium, and other landmarks making an appearance. And if you own the Great Western Express add-on, you'll find a handful of AI HST services around this area as well.

Around the network are collectibles to find, and for once we have a bit more variety than just station maps, defibrillators, and fire extinguishers. OK, station maps are still here, but we do get Welsh cakes, love spoons, and bundles of leeks. It makes a lot more sense than the food delivery robots included in the West Coast Main Line add-on, and it adds a bit of local flavour. However, I found their implementation a bit clumsy — they were dotted around stations, on the floor, almost randomly. At least the Welsh cakes were on paper plates (themed with the flag of Wales no less!), but I felt there had to be a better way. It's a minor thing but one I was reminded of regularly.

The Cardiff City Network is a potentially excellent route that, while tainted by its minor issues, is deserving of its place in the Train Sim World 5 line-up. You can grasp the effort that was put into the Class 153 from the phenomenal visuals and audio. And thanks to the improvements it received for this add-on, the Class 150 is a solid addition despite being an older unit (though you can still tell that it is the older of the two). The small details like the Welsh-themed collectibles add charm, even if their placement felt haphazard. I reckon the Cathcart Circle Line experience is more polished, but I can still comfortably recommend the Cardiff City Network for fans of urban, commuter routes.