Recent reviews by AirbourneAlex

A great little route, which offers something fresh from the usual UK content. Looks good, sounds good, performs well and feels right. It might get a little repetitive after a few drives but its uniqueness will make it a route worth revisiting.

Having the option for automatic train operation makes it comparatively easy and relaxing to drive; all you need to do once set up the cab is to press T to load passengers then N to start auto drive, only requiring manual intervention when entering and exiting the depot.

The only letdown for me is with it not including any scenarios (including quick drive) that let you do a full loop of the route, i.e. starting and ending at the same station (not the depot). If you want to try this then you'll have to find workshop scenarios or make your own (which can be a bit of a hassle). This sort of situation is where a timetable mode, similar to that of Train Sim World, would be a very useful addition for Train Simulator.

Well worth getting on sale, and like most other TS DLC, only pay full price if you're really interested.

The route looks very pretty with varied urban, suburban, countryside and coastal scenery. The addition of the Sheerness branch and updates to the existing route with some new assets and extension to Blackfriars is welcome. The big new feature of this route is the extensions to Dover and Ramsgate, adding about another 50 miles of previously unseen scenery. This finally allows for full length runs on this route with services reaching up to 2 hours in duration, with lots of scenario potential. Stations are very well modelled and there are numerous custom assets for notable landmarks, including Dreamland at Margate which looks spot on. (For reference this route is local to me and I know it quite well, so I can testify to its accuracy).

The rolling stock isn't particularly good if you're used to using AP products like me, but ultimately they aren't the worst and certainly aren't too bad to drive. The livery variety is a welcome addition, with almost all liveries and subclasses included for the electrostars. The new Class 465/9 looks great but doesn't sound that great, essentially being the model from TSW mashed together with the old L2F Class 465 motor sounds and original CML Class 465 run sounds. At least the sounds aren't broken this time like the recent Class 323 from Cross City.

The price is excellent for newer players who don't own the original route(s), as you get so much content included. However for those who do own parts of the route already, the price may seem a bit steep given you're essentially getting less content for the same price (why wasn't a discount offered like with other route upgrades/extensions?).

No game-breaking problems encountered so far, only a handful of minor scenery bugs. Cannot comment on the included career scenarios as I don't really use them. Note that you will get the Class 375 livery pack and original Chatham Main Line route bundled with this DLC.

Summary being that this is a fantastic route for newcomers who wish to bulk up on content, and a nice treat for more seasoned players looking for a complete route to drive.

Reviewing this route about 6 months after release and it feels much improved. A lot of the negative reviews stem from when the route was undoubtedly released unfinished (myself being one to criticise and refund the original) but since the developers have actually released several patches to fix most issues. Conclusion being that this is a great route and excellent value if picked up on sale.

Positives:
-Very long route, takes about an hour and a half to drive the full length at a high line speed.
-Well modelled stations that look and feel right.
-Good selection of rolling stock with advanced features and alright sounds that are pleasurable to drive.
-Lots of service patterns can be recreated, great for scenario potential.
-Scenery is of decent quality and on-par with other DTG routes, many of the original kuju assets used have been replaced or improved.
-Performance is adequate and on-par with (if not better than) other DTG routes. No issues with crashing or out of memory.
-They even bothered to model the three subclasses of the Class 350 with differing passenger views which was unexpected.

Negatives:
-The Class 350 has an annoying brake squeal noise if braking heavily when coming into a platform.
-Both the Class 350 and 390 are set up cold & dark causing newbies to complain that they can't move the train (should have been set up in a ready to go state to avoid people complaining that it doesn't work when it actually does).
-The rolling stock can also have an impact on FPS when in congested areas like Willesden and Euston if using a potato like me, but not game-breaking.
-OHLE doesn't load properly around Willesden when driving the 350/390 due to the game being unable to cope with the sheer amount of assets and memory usage. Works perfectly fine using other trains or by disabling AI.
-Included scenarios are alright but lack a balance between driving the up/down and fast/slow lines. It would have been nicer to have more scenarios with the 390 and some more originating at Euston, plus some for the Watford DC lines using the 378. I'm sure a scenario pack would be welcome for those who like that stuff...
-The worse issue being that it doesn't include the Northampton loop, an important part of the route that makes the route feel like it has a gap (imagine it being similar to not including the slow lines via Redhill on the Brighton Main Line). I wouldn't have minded seeing a shorter route (say as far as Rugby and including the Northampton loop), and providing an extension later on to Birmingham (like how North Wales Coastal had an extension later on to Holyhead). Oh well.

Altogether these issues are fairly minor and won't distract you from enjoying the route as it is now. It is a great route that was requested for a long time and to finally see it appear as an official DLC on steam really makes a lot of people happy and I'm sure the silent majority here who don't review would agree.

Whilst I know DTG messed up the initial release they've more or less made up for their mistake by fairly promptly fixing the issues and apologising to the community. Hopefully they will learn from this and publish content when it's ready rather than when it's due. We can only wish.

All else aside I would add is, if in doubt, wait for a sale. Like all DLC you'd probably feel you're getting better value for money this way, and after all, sales on TS are usually every month so you can't get very impatient. Picked this up as part of the TS2021 deluxe package so I got 4 routes for the price of just over half a route at normal price (£100 for £16). Can't argue with that!