After protecting the riverbank with raised quay walls, Verville rebuilds its whole rail network: unnecessary stations and lines go, passenger trains get their own branch, and freight trains are split between the three outside connections on the left and one on the right. Transit policies, office zones with a small park, Adventure World amusement park, more schools, fire coverage and a truck-only fix for a cargo station follow — and the city reaches 300,000.
What happens in this episode
The game had problems, so this starts from a save two days old. Before tackling the trains, which had bothered me for a long time, the riverbank needed protection against floods.
How it was built
Quay walls
New quay walls went along the river, raised slightly with Move It so no water reaches the citizens. Some quays were added purely for looks, plus a power line.
Rebuilding the rail network
Too many stations and lines didn’t help, so they were deleted to keep things simple. Stations were turned and moved, missing water pipes were added, a two-lane one-way serves a station, and the line through town was remodelled, because I never liked how it ran. Halfway through, the game lagged and crashed, so I restarted.
Passengers and freight apart
Passenger trains now come into town on their own branch. Freight trains pass under the highway, and are split between left and right: three outside connections on the left, one on the right. It took a lot of work, but no freight train crossed into the passenger network anymore. Free public transport, encouraged biking, a heavy traffic ban and a combustion engine ban support it.
Offices and a park
Office demand was huge, so more offices and high-rise homes went in, with a small park between the offices (cafés, restrooms, gazebos, a playground for office workers’ kids). Sound-barrier highways were extended. Incinerators couldn’t keep up with waste, and noise pollution was rising. A junction below river level kept flooding, so it was raised. A passenger line got more trains.
Schools and Adventure World
Lots of elementary schools and high schools, even in districts without many residents, to attract more people. An amusement park, Adventure World (Prospect Meadows), with restrooms right at the entrance (after searching for parking, people will be happy). More fire stations cover the forests, plus libraries and park maintenance buildings.
The last fixes
A new power station, because demand was far beyond production. A cargo station nobody used turned out to be partly unconnected. After fixing it with lane rules and a no-trucks rule elsewhere, trucks started using it. Verville reached 300,000 citizens, one of the biggest cities I’ve ever built. A large forestry area comes next.
Video chapters
- 00:00Quay walls against floods
- 05:20Deleting stations and lines
- 10:40Straight tracks and one-way access
- 16:42Remodelling the line through town
- 22:20A crash and a restart
- 28:27Passenger branch and freight underpasses
- 39:50Freight split left and right
- 44:55Transit policies, offices and a park
- 55:10Sound barriers and waste
- 1:00:48Flooding junctions and train budgets
- 1:06:00Schools and Adventure World
- 1:17:34Fire coverage, libraries and park maintenance
- 1:23:25Power and a cargo station nobody used
- 1:34:51300,000 citizens
Clicking a chapter starts the video above at that point.
FAQ
How do you split freight traffic in Cities: Skylines?
Route freight to several outside connections. In Verville, three connections on the left and one on the right now share the freight trains, instead of everything using one exit.
Why do roads near rivers flood?
Junctions below the river level fill with water. Raise them and protect the bank with quay walls lifted slightly with Move It.
Why wasn't a cargo station used?
Part of it wasn't connected properly. After reconnecting the road and setting lane rules, trucks started using it.