• The station complex can be placed anywhere on a bidirectional mainline, given sufficient space.

• The station transfers passengers, mail and valuables (PMV) from nearby towns and cities using trains, buses and lorries, to be sent in either direction along the mainline, but never to be taken back to their origins (notwithstanding errant transfers elsewhere).

• The station receives PMV, and wares (goods, food, water, gold) from elsewhere, as delivered by the mainline from either direction, and then distributes them to the neighbouring towns and cities.

  (The depicted layout only really has space for PMV and goods. Extra platforms may be needed to deal with additional wares.)

• The station itself is not intended to either produce or accept PMV and wares. (Keep towns and cities away!)

• Mainline PMV trains can terminate/originate at this station, or stop while passing through.

• Wares trains on the mainline can approach from either direction to deposit their wares and return.

• Any mainline train may pass through without stopping, and without occupying any platforms.

• Use multiple stations to distinguish between those PMV arriving from the towns and those arriving from the mainline.

• Split stations up to permit simple transferral of cargo.

• 

  Use deceleration track before platforms to alleviate Realistic Vehicle Acceleration.

• Use depots as sponges before platforms to prevent deadlock.

• Use waypoints to dedicate platforms of the same station to particular tasks.

• Use flyovers/tunnels to form non-interfering cross-overs.

• The example station complex appears on a mainline oriented between North West (NW) and South East (SE).

• There are three regions:

  • The mainline section comprises the longest platforms (6 tiles).

  • The NE flank comprises platforms (4 tiles in length) that directly serve the connecting towns.

  • The SW flank is completely isolated from the other sections, and is used to merge sources of PMV from the mainline into one supply. (Platforms are 3 tiles long.)

• Four distinct stations are involved:

  • Trains from NW can partially transfer PMV to Sefield NW Arrivals.

    
    

  • Trains from SE can partially transfer PMV to Sefield SE Arrivals.

    
    

  • Trains from either direction can fully transfer PMV and goods directly to Sefield Arrivals. It also collects PMV delivered to Sefield NW Arrivals or Sefield SE Arrivals.

    
    

  • NW and SE Trains that have just transferred some PMV, or trains that originate at the complex, can pass through Sefield Departures, and pick up new cargo there. This station has separate NW-bound and SE-bound sections.

  
  

• The four mainline departure platform sections belong to the same station, so passengers arriving from the towns don't decide which way to go until a train arrives to pick them up.

  
  

• The two mainline arrival platform sections for through trains are distinct stations. If they were the same, passengers transferred from one direction could be picked up by trains travelling from the other, and end up back where they started.

  However, the corresponding platforms for terminating trains are part of the same Sefield Arrivals station. Trains stopping here are expected to fully unload, thus ensuring that they won't pick up any cargo anyway.

• A PMV train stopping on its way through from (say) NW to SE heads for the waypoint Sefield NW-SE. This leads it first into Sefield NW Arrivals, where it transfers and takes cargo, possibly yielding some of its own cargo to the station complex. It will not pick up anything here, except perhaps cargo from other co-incident NW-SE trains.

  The train then goes directly and exclusively to the SE-bound section of Sefield Departures, and simply takes available cargo. It then continues SE.

  1. …
  2. Go non-stop via Sefield NW-SE
  3. Go non-stop to Sefield NW Arrivals (Transfer and take cargo)
  4. Go non-stop to Sefield Departures
  5. …

  (A similar pattern exists for SE-NW PMV trains.)

  1. …
  2. Go non-stop via Sefield SW-NW
  3. Go non-stop to Sefield SE Arrivals (Transfer and take cargo)
  4. Go non-stop to Sefield Departures
  5. …

• A PMV train from (say) NW intending to terminate and originate here heads for waypoint Sefield NW Deposit, and unloads and transfers to Sefield Arrivals.

  It then continues SE, but goes under the mainline, through Sefield NW Start, and into the NW-bound section of Sefield Departures, where it can pick up PMV.

  1. …
  2. Go non-stop via Sefield NW Deposit
  3. Go non-stop to Sefield Arrivals (Transfer and leave empty)
  4. Go non-stop via Sefield NW Start
  5. Go non-stop to Sefield Departures
  6. …

• A goods train from NW initially behaves the same: via Sefield NW Deposit; then unload and transfer at Sefield Arrivals. But after going under the mainline, it rejoins it, and heads NW again.

  1. …
  2. Go non-stop via Sefield NW Deposit
  3. Go non-stop to Sefield Arrivals (Transfer and leave empty)

  (A similar pattern exists for SE goods trains.)

  1. …
  2. Go non-stop via Sefield SE Deposit
  3. Go non-stop to Sefield Arrivals (Transfer and leave empty)

• NW Arrivals and SE Arrivals each have three additional platforms in the SW flank. A dedicated train on each of these takes a full load of PMV, and transfers and leaves empty at Sefield Arrivals. Now all arriving PMV appear as a single supply.

  1. Go non-stop to Sefield NW Arrivals
  2. Go non-stop to Sefield Arrivals (Transfer and leave empty)
  1. Go non-stop to Sefield SE Arrivals
  2. Go non-stop to Sefield Arrivals (Transfer and leave empty)

• The Sefield Departures station also has some platforms in the NE flank. Trains from the served towns and cities go via Sefield Passengers/Mail or Sefield Valuables then transfer at Sefield Departures and leave empty. They then run immediately into Sefield Arrivals, and take a full load. Buses and lorries act similarly.

  1. …
  2. Go non-stop via Sefield Passengers/Mail
  3. Go non-stop to Sefield Departures (Transfer and leave empty)
  4. Go non-stop to Sefield Arrivals (Full load)

• Goods trains serving the towns instead go via Sefield Goods, and take a full load at Sefield Arrivals. Lorries act similarly.

  1. …
  2. Go non-stop via Sefield Goods
  3. Go non-stop to Sefield Arrivals (Full load)

• Mainline tracks need to be merged, or arranged to permit any train to move to any track.

Note: Some extra track is present in the diagrams which is not necessary because the outermost mainline platforms now belong to Sefield Arrivals instead of either Sefield NW Arrivals or Sefield SE Arrivals.

Firstly, consider by-passing the complex along the mainline. After passing all mainline platforms and crossing a bridge, a left turn takes you back under that bridge in order to reach the ?? Deposit waypoints for the opposite direction. This is no longer necessary, as a train can deposit using the outer platforms on the same side of the track that it approaches on, and then has a track to turn around.

Secondly, if a train is forced to deposit on the opposite side of its arrival (i.e. it has already turned around), it reaches the platforms, then immediately has a choice to turn around again, or carry on back whence it came. The track to turn around again is not necessary, as all terminating trains will unload in the direction they arrived (on whichever side of the station is convenient), then turn round and leave.

(Construction ought to be a lot easier if you have something like Distant-Join Stations .)

1. Choose a location on the mainline that is not too near any towns. The earthworks will likely reduce your ratings at these towns if you're too close, and prevent you from completing the station in good time.

   Furthermore, as towns grow, they may encroach on the station, and cause it to start generating its own passengers and mail.

2. Level the land around the mainline, at least 9 tiles either side. For the flanking platforms, it may be advantageous to lift them up an extra level – especially on the NE side, as you might want the town tracks to cross the mainline to server both sides.

3. Mark out the corners or edges of the station positions by buying up the appropriate tiles.

4. Start with the 3-track×6-tile Arrivals station on the mainline, next to the SW flank.

5. Build the 3×6 SE Arrivals adjoining it on the mainline.

6. Extend it with the 3×3 perpendicular section in the flank.

7. Extend Arrivals similarly on the SW flank, on the NE side of the mainline, and in the NE flank.

8. Build the 3×6 NW Arrivals adjoining that NE portion of Arrivals on the mainline.

9. Extend NW Arrivals back across the mainline to the SW flank, in order to build a 3×3 section there.

10. Complete the remaining 3×3 section of Arrivals on the SW flank

11. Build the 4 3×6 sections of Departures.

12. Extend it into the NE flank.

13. Fill in the tracks.

• The station is intended to serve multiple local towns and cities, so it covers a wide area. To be effective, it therefore can't be too close to another such complex, but this then means that passengers will necessarily be travelling longer, resulting in loss-making routes.

  This problem is mitigated somewhat when you move onto faster trains.

• The station is big. There's not a lot of room for other materials, like diamonds, water and food, which you might want to distribute to the served community.

  However, I have managed to fit two intercontinental airports into the surrounding space, as part of the Arrivals and Departures stations.

• This sort of shenanigans with complex stations may become redundant should passengers start having personal destinations, i.e. they plot a route through several stations to an ultimate goal, and decide whether they are being transferred or delivered themselves.

• If nearby cities grow, they might get close enough to start generating passengers directly for the station, so the capacity to transfer the intended passengers may be decreased. It's because of this that I suggested the ability to turn on and off a station's ability to generate passengers.