CRH380D High Speed Train and Chengdu-Suining Route Bundle Pack
A review by Peter Hayes
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Introduction:
Just Trains have produced yet another interesting passenger (high speed) route and loco which can be purchased either as a bundle pack (CRH380D High Speed Train and Chengdu-Suining Route Bundle Pack) or separate route and loco (Chengdu to Suining High Speed Route (includes CRH1A EMU [Electro-Motive Unit]) & CRH380D High Speed Train).
This is a so-called “end to end” route but it is extremely well done and interesting and will be welcomed by all adrenalin seeking Sinophiles.
The High speed Chengdu to Suining route is a modern passenger route located in Southwest China. The route is 146km (90 miles) in length, and in the bundle pack the CRH380D is capable of running at 350 km/h, being able to complete the journey in just about 33 minutes.
Starting from Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province, the line runs through ShibanTan, Huaikou, Longsheng, Jijin, Zitong, Cangshan, Daying and finishing in Suining, being part of the 2078 km (1290 miles) long Shanghai–Wuhan–Chengdu High-Speed Railway line.
The route comes with the CRH1A EMU (Electro Motive Unit) which has a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph) but with a service speed of 220 km/h (137 mph). The CRH1E includes the Chinese Train Control System - CTCS-3 Cab signalling system which is similar to the European Train Control System (ETCS). The CTS-3 signalling comprises: Balise (transponder/beacon) + GSM-R + ATP, using CTCS-2 as the backup system, and the CTCS-3 is equivalent to the European ETCS Level-2 + CTCS-2.
The route itself comes with 6 standard scenarios and 1 quick drive scenario, and is compatible with TS2014’s Quick Drive Mode.
The bundle adds in the CRH380D High Speed Train with a top speed of 380km/h (236 mph) and in service they usually have a configuration of a) CRH380D (8-car set) & b ) CRH380DL (16-car set). This HST belongs to the family of Bombardier Zefiro passenger units designed by Bombardier Transportation with the 380D having the highest service speeds.
Coupled with the CRH380D are four “standard” scenarios, and two free roam scenarios for the Chengdu-Suining High Speed Route. The CRH 380D is compatible with TS2014’s Quick Drive Mode.
Trivia
- Chengdu City population around 20 million, and surrounds population approaching 30 million
- Fourth most populace city in China
- Capital Sichuan Province
- China’s fourth most liveable city
- Last city to fall into communist hands in 1949
- To date has the world's largest building - the New Century Global Centre at 328 feet (100 m) high, 1,640 feet (500 m) long, and 1,312 feet (400 m) wide
- Home of the Shu Opera
- Great centre for Mahjong
- Established a breeding centre for giant Pandas
- Home to Asia Moon Bear Sanctuary in Chengdu, China
- 70% of Chinese Medicinal Plants found in Sichuan Province
- Gateway to the Tibetan Plateau and Himalayas
- Jinsha is an archaeological site is located in the Qingyang District of Chengdu
- iPads are made in Chengdu plus many laptop components
Download and Install
The package full and upgrade is available as a download (353MB – route and 35MB Loco with an extracted size of approx. 1270MB (incl. Assets) and 153 MB respectively). There is also a boxed version available on the JT website.
Installation is typical of Just Trains, just open the supplied “.exe” file enter in your login details to verify the purchase and the installer finds the correct path to install the software in TS 2014. Minor point: I do wish that JT could modify this procedure so that your details are saved and could be used on a subsequent verification and/or JT allow password managers (e.g. RoboForm) to complete the details for you. It gets quite tedious when you several downloads to verify.
The installation procedure does not use the “.ap” file structure now used in TS2014 and this makes it easier to edit scenarios etc. without having to extract files from the compressed “.ap” structure.
Manuals
There are 2 manuals one for the route and one for the high speed locomotive.
Route Manual
The route manual “Chengdu to Suining HS route, including the CRHIA EMU” was a little disappointing in that there was no really good comprehensive guide to driving the CRHIA EMU and how to utilise all of the features. There was no mention of the scenarios included with this package. However it covers comprehensively “Installation, support and uninstallation”, which simmers will find useful. Further it gives an excellent breakdown on CTCS-3 signalling system, which needs to be read and understood to utilise this route to its maximum potential.
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CRH380D Manual
The HST manual, “CRH380D HST Driver’s Guide” is quite comprehensive, describing installation, support, etc.’, and continuing with coverage of how to drive this formidable beast. The CTCS-3 signalling system is described briefly, but not in the same depth as in the route manual. However, there were good descriptions as to what the flashing symbols and speed reductions/increments actually meant.
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Both manuals can be found using the \Start Menu\All programs\Just Trains\Name of Route/HST and in the RailWorks\Manuals\EN (English) folder.
To reiterate, if in doubt “Read the Flipping Manual” first!
Background: (from Wikipedia):
The Suining to Chengdu is part of the Dazhou–Chengdu Railway comprising a high speed double-track, electrified rail corridor in Sichuan Province of southwest China. It is also part of the vastly longer Shanghai–Wuhan–Chengdu High-Speed Railway. The route is one of the 4 East-West high-speed rail corridors detailed in China's national high-speed rail plan and will serve the needs of over 320 million potential rail travellers...
The Suining to Chengdu services the provincial town of Suining (pop 3.3m) to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China It has a population of 20+million in the city and surrounding urban and rural environs.
This part of China is one of the most important economic, transportation, and communication centres in China, and it requires a good transportation network to function optimally and bring new prosperity to this former rural region.
The line starting from Chengdu passes through the following stations, ShibanTan, Huaikou, Longsheng, Jijin, Zitong, Cangshan, Daying ending in Suining, giving the simmer 146km of high speed unleashed adrenalin simming.
As stated above the route is equipped with a sophisticated signalling system, enabling both 350 km/h and 250 km/h capable trains to run on it.
System Requirements from JT:
Train Simulator 2014 that was upgraded from Train Simulator 2012 on 20th September 2012. If you purchased Train Simulator after that date you will require the following assets for the route to display correctly:
- European Loco & Asset Pack (available to purchase via Steam)
- US Loco & Asset Pack (available to purchase via Steam).
- 3.0GHz PC or any Dual Core
- Windows 8 / 7 / XP / Vista
- 512MB RAM (1GB for Windows 8 / 7 / Vista)
- 256MB graphics card
- Direct X 9.0c compatible sound card
- 575MB hard drive space
To me, these system requirements are a little optimistic, (but to be fair they are the specs minimum recommended by RSC/DTG) and I would aim a little higher if you want top maintain realistic smooth trouble-free performance. The RAM requirements are on the low side as Windows 7 64-bit itself needs 2+GB of RAM to run without TS2014 and this route and HST and I saw up to 1 to 2GB of RAM being used by the Route and the HST. I would recommend to anyone running a 64-bit OS to have at least 4GB (and better 8GB) of matched RAM to ensure smooth performance.
The 256MB graphics card is also a little optimistic, unless you are running a small monitor. RSC/DTG wrt TS2014 recommends a graphics card with 1-2GB VRAM (for best results) and a memory bandwidth of at least 60GB/sec. Running a 24” 1920 x 1200 monitor I saw a VRAM usage of around 1.5 GB (1500MB). IMHO you would need at least a GTX560/Radeon HD 5770 with 1 to 2 GB of VRAM depending on monitor size.
The download sizes also differ for the route as I saw: 708MB for TSLiu Folder, 272 MB for the CNLiu Folder and 293MB for the content\route folder, i.e. a total of 1273MB or 1.27GB.
Both the route and the HST ran without issue on my Windows 7 64-bit and Windows 8.1 Update 1 64-bit systems, with TSX on and/or off. I saw little effect on frame rates and all the scenarios, standard, free roam and quick drive, performed as they should without issue.
Important note from Just Trains about TS2014:
Important! Please note that the Chengdu – Suining route is compatible with Train Simulator 2014 that was upgraded from Train Simulator 2012 on 20th September 2012. If you purchased Train Simulator after that date you will require the following assets for the route to display correctly:
- European Loco & Asset Pack (available to purchase via Steam)
- US Loco & Asset Pack (available to purchase via Steam)
Chengdu to Suining High Speed Route
My Visual observations
I need to state straight away that this is a high speed passenger route with no freight applications and so far I have not found any other scenarios except those supplied with the route. The route is 143km long and comes complete with a 250km/h EMU, i.e. the CRH1A.
The route is fairly straight with few severe curves and in the most part level (maximum gradient 2% - made possible by long stretches of elevated track) and there are also quite a few tunnels and bridges. Just Trains tell us that the bridges and tunnels comprise >60% of the route. However even on the elevated sections (bridges), it is still a quite a scenic route depicting rivers and streams, farms, trees and you pass through valleys and hills as well as towns and cities.
The stations are well modelled, with platform lengths of 450m, i.e. capable of accommodating a 16 car consist. I could not see any car stopping markers for say an 8 car consist, but then my Chinese reading skills are non-existent. I did not hear any station announcements so perhaps there are none (confirmed by JT). The stations that you can stop at are: Chengdu, ShibanTan, Huaikou, Longsheng, Jijin, Zitong, Cangshan, Daying, and Suining.
The track is well done and looks like it does in the real world, for the main portion of the 146km mainline (and 6km branch line) it has 2 x China Railway Class I Electrified tracks. The points (switches) are well modelled as is the ballast and the track itself. (I did not concern myself with any minor imperfections if indeed there were any.)
This route claims that it has more than 150 Chinese-featured objects for the route, and certainly the environment and buildings reflects those features. The cityscapes are large and vast, maybe a little repetitive, but without detriment to their realism. The skyscrapers are well lit at night and certainly give you the impression that you passing through a city. Similarly the countryside has rich features, including variety, great colours, shadows and lighting. The station at Chengdu even features its own shopping mall with a variety of shops and stores – that’s what I call attention to detail. However, because you are travelling at very high speeds, coupled with a sophisticated signalling system, you have very little opportunity to admire the environment as you need to keep focussed on driving the locos especially when you can’t use the various auto modes.
One amusing note (well it appealed to my warped sense of humour) is that there can’t be any Chinese person/people objects as all of the passengers tramping up and down the platforms are definitely Caucasian in origin, and JT tell me that they are all tourists!
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The roads are well done, with flowing traffic, and whilst it would have been nice to see more vehicles, but at 350km/h they are gone in a flash.
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The best visual experience for me was when a scenario was based at dusk and you could see some fantastic lighting effects as you flashed through the vast interior of this massive country.
I guess, in the end, this is a route about travelling fast and controlling locomotives that travel at high speed and need to be stopped safely for passengers to disembark.
CRH1A EMU
As I say above the DLC includes the CRH1A EMU which has a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph) and a service speed of 220 km/h (137 mph), and the CRH1E includes the CTCS-3 Cab signalling system (more later). From Wikipedia: CRH1A and CRH1B are based on Bombardier's Regina family. The train was designed by Sifang and Bombardier jointly in Västerås, Sweden and originally named C2008.
This comes as 8 car unit that can be driven in either direction with a white livery blue stripe and the CRH logo. Both the cab and the passenger compartments (cars) are well modelled and you can distinguish between the first and second class interiors by the trim, and both are well appointed, and each car (at either end), displays the speed that the train is travelling. There are very good views from each car, but I found them to be slightly noisy say compared to the driver’s cab.
From the outside it looks great, with a streamlined body and sparkling trim, in other words, it really looks the part.
The cab has some nice detail, with two main centre flat screen displays that display the elements of the CTCS-3 Cab signalling system (on the left) and the other the train speed with the cruise control buttons in front of this display. The right displays details, such as, train car number, destination, status alert, car numbers and pantograph indicator, and blue and yellow bands with only Chinese characters. The Left Flat-Screen Display has a non-operative keypad and phone and a button to raise/lower the pantograph, the emergency and start-up buttons are on the console in front of this display. These screens were not described in detail in the manual, other than the signalling system screen.
There is a tutorial (standard scenario) included called: “(CRH1A) 1. Introduction to CRH1A EMU - This scenario teaches you how to drive the CRH1A EMU.” This is hardly necessary as the loco is quite easy to drive, but it does help with the signalling and the cruise control features. I found that the F4 HUD “got in the way” of the cab displays and so used the F5 HUD to drive the unit.
The forward car of the unit features a very powerful head light which is quite bright in TS 2014 and the rear unit has a flashing red light as it does in real life.
Acceleration is smooth using the “A”/”D” keys or the X-Box 360 PC controller with the unit having dynamic braking built into the throttle control. Braking was smooth and even braking from high speeds brought the train under control without upsetting the passengers.
The Cab comes equipped with a cruise control feature as well as an advanced cruise control feature. Using the “standard” cruise control just keeps the EMU at the speed that you have set it at, and as far as I could see did not reduce speed in accordance with the signalling system. The advanced system could be set at any speed and it would keep the train at the signal (i.e. recommended and mandatory speeds and signal condition) accelerating and decelerating according to the signalling system, and even stopping at a station when “0” speed was indicated. I liked this system much better than the one in the CRH380D.
One control that was not described (as far as I could see) in the manual, was the cab lighting switch, and I had to ask JT where to find it, and yes its there on the left console. Neither was there any explanation on how the headlights worked as they also seemed to be coupled with the instrument lighting as well?
I could not get the head out view to work and this may be a feature of this EMU in that it might be rather dangerous to open any window at high speed, as your going as nearly fast as a small regional jet.
All in all the driving experience was good especially in free roam.
Included are a 6 standard, (but timed), scenarios and 1 Free Roam scenario with the route and CRH1A being Quick Drive Compatible. The scenarios are varied showing off the route at differing weather, seasons and time i.e. day and night. The complexity is not too high, but they contain enough variables to make them interesting. If you enjoy driving very fast indeed through superb country under any condition – then this is the route for you!
I have to say from the outset, that I do not like timed or career scenarios as on many occasions you have to drive and brake very fast in order to complete them and get the much-prized “green tick”. So, I found that the times stopping at and between stations were too tight, and on one occasion I was kept waiting at one station and was too late to arrive at the next station and got the red cross and failed the scenario. IMHO the timings need to be a little more liberal and not so restrictive and punitive.
Stopping at stations was also a little hit or miss, in the fact I wasn’t sure where the train should stop in relation to the platform, but on many occasions (not all) you are helped by the advanced cruise control and the signalling system as the latter showed “0” at some point on the platform and you could either brake manually or allow the cruise control to do it for you and come to a halt to allow the passengers to disembark.
The Free Roam and Quick Drive scenarios were excellent with no time restraints.
Sounds
On the whole the sounds are good and JT state that they are “custom sounds” but do not indicate if they from the real world or not i.e. authentic, but informed me that they were Chines in origin.
One observation, I don’t know if some of the sounds were faulty, but on opening the passenger doors the sound ceased after a couple of seconds and silence ensued until the doors closed again. JT reassured me that this was what it would sound like in real life.
There was an audible indication for when you could move on after loading new passengers but I could not find a method of acknowledging that signal and not sure if that reflects real life.
The CTCS-3 Signalling System
I have included this as a separate section to try to explain it better as it needs to be mastered in order to drive any HST on this route. This in cab signalling allows the driver to monitor signals and speed limits more easily than looking out of the cab at high speeds. The FLAT-SCREEN display in the cab gives all of the relevant data including, Signal Aspect, Signal Speed, Current track speed, next track speed, distance to next track speed (in 10 km increments), and the safety system switch – default is ON. The manual details the signalling system in good detail and I recommend that you read this section and then run the first scenario “Introduction to CRH1A EMU”.
Basically if a signal speed is displayed then keep you speed to the signal speed, and if there is NO signal speed displayed then run at the track speed and/or use the advanced cruise control.
The system is well modelled and it will show you the speeds to reduce to e.g. when approaching a station, about 10 km out, the speed is reduced from the track/signal speed progressively down e.g. 200. 160, 90 km/h (green/yellow indicator) to 45 km/h (red indicator) about 0.5 Km from the end of the platform. In most cases this reduces to 0km/h (red indicator) once you are running up the platform, indicating that you should brake and stop.
Because you really need to see this FLAT-SCREEN whilst driving – I tended to use the F5 HUD only or no HUD at all when driving this train.
Note: If your speed is 5km/h more than the track speed, or you pass a red signal travelling >45km/h (no braking) then the emergency brakes will be applied.
CRH380D High Speed Electric Train (HST)
This can be purchased separately or included with the route as a bundle pack, i.e. you need the route to run this loco.
I have described the pedigree of this HST above, being part of the Bombardier “Zefiro” development. It is capable of an operating speed of 350 km/h (220 mph).
- CH380D HST System Requirements:
- Train Simulator 2014
- 3.0GHz PC or any Dual Core
- Windows 8 / 7 / XP / Vista
- 512MB RAM (1GB for Windows Vista / 7 / 8)
- 256MB graphics card
- Direct X 9.0c compatible sound card
- 161MB hard drive space
- Note: see my comments about specifications above.
- Note: The Quick Drive scenario acts as a sort of tutorial in that it accesses most of the features on this train. Well worth driving first.
In the Cab
The cab is state-of-the-art and is well detailed showing the 3 FLAT-SCREEN consoles, left, centre and right, including gauges and displays (as in the real deal) these are apparently illuminated via the headlight switch. The cab is also illuminated at night. This also comes as 8 and 16 car unit that can be driven in either direction with a white livery blue stripe along the beautifully streamlined body. The train looks phenomenal with sleek lines that just ooze speed (see above).
Left Console:
The flat screen displays the train service number (also displays externally), current track speed limit, next track speed limit, distance to next limit (max 10km), and a linear ribbon which operates when <5km to next limit. It also displays the safety switches (on by default) and this activates the emergency brakes under certain line conditions. There is also the very useful next signal aspect, displaying green, yellow, 2 yellows and red, plus an advisory speed limit using the same colour as the signal aspect colours. Using your mouse in this display you can also change the train service number, which requires a little manual dexterity to get it right.
An audible alarm will sound if you exceed the designated track speed. Here you can also disable this alarm for external views (via a button in front of the FLAT-SCREEN), – if you do and you are “outside” sight seeing you cannot tell if there is a hazard ahead. There is also an “emergency stop button” for emergency braking.
Middle Console
The centre flat-screen displays the train speed in km/h, the track speed, traction effort, plus braking pressure details. in front on the console are a series of buttons and switches, including, pantograph up/down, headlight switch, cab interior light, horn, master key on/off the cruise control switch, and the cruise control rotary speed setting.
Right Console
The flat panel displays the train car number, station names, status alert indicator, and the car (compartment) numbers. The blue bar below this displays the cruise control speed that you set in the rotary button in front of the centre display. Below this is a black bar that displays other information including if the pantograph is up or down. There is also an indicator showing if the train doors are open – useful to know when departing a station!
The buttons, switches, and handles, adjacent to this flat-panel display, control the wipers, sander, reverser, and throttle.
In my opinion the cab is very well detailed, displaying all the pertinent flat-screen displays, switches, levers, buttons, etc., and IMO it is easier to drive this HST without the F3/F4 HUDs, i.e., with the mouse/controller/keyboard, with perhaps just using the F5 HUD for occasional reference.
Both the cab and the passenger compartments (cars) are well modelled but you can only see the interior of 1 car, the view does not change as it does in the CRH1A. The train speed and other information is displayed at the end of each car, but in this case only in Chinese (well it is a train running in China, not forgetting those European tourists).
There does not appear to be a “head out of the cab view” on this loco, but that is in keeping with safety and the cab design (see CRH1A above).
The controls can be manipulated using the mouse, keyboard, Xbox 360® PC controller and/or a mixture of all 3. I did not test the controls using a Raildriver® controller, but the latter should work as the CH380D uses standard keyboard controls).
Once you have mastered the signalling system, and how to set the cruise control speed (I found this quite difficult to judge and adjust with my mouse) this HST is very easy to control. With the cruise control it is recommended that you set it at either 5 or 10 km below the indicated speed limit to avoid over speeding and it can only be set in 10km/h increments. Therefore, in my opinion, the cruise control is not as versatile as that it the CRH1A in that you have to manually adjust the cruise control speed according to track conditions whereas in the CRH1A this was automatic. In consequence I rarely used this cruise control function and preferred to drive the HST manually.
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Braking, to come to a halt at a station, is realistic and is set according to well defined guidelines from the excellent signalling system. It goes something like this: Running at a top speed of 350km/h - 10 km from a station (you will see the speed limit of 45 km/h at 10 km distance) , at 7.5 km out, green advisory will recommend 300 km/h, at 5.5 km out a yellow advisory will recommend 230 km/h (display double flashing yellows), at 3.5 km out a yellow advisory plus audible alert will recommend 160 km/h, at 2 km out a yellow advisory plus audible alert will recommend 90 km/h, at around 0.5km from the platform a red advisory plus audible alert will mandate 45 km/hr. On entering the platform in some scenarios and this reduces to 0km/h (red indicator) once you are running up the platform, indicating that you should brake progressively and stop. Because most of the standard scenarios are timed you need to make sure that don’t brake too early (get the red cross for being late) or braking too late (risking derailment etc.), and believe me that takes practice. This is a great part of driving in this route, giving you the same opportunity as a real engineer to drive these vey fast HSTs.
I found the driving experience to be as good as any other HST in my TS2014 sidings, easy to accelerate, brake, and giving the impression of speed. This is the fastest loco in the TS2014 range, and easy to drive.
Sounds
I thought that the sounds were appropriate for this type of train, and did not hear much repetition. JT state that sounds with this loco are, “, authentic custom sounds” but do not elaborate further. The sounds inside the cars are whisper quiet, with just track noise being heard.
Scenarios
With the route and the CRH1A you get 6 x Standard scenarios (timed) including: 1. Introduction to CRH1A EMU, 2. Fast service to Jijin, 3. Bad weather run 4. Short passenger run, 5. Night Express, 6. Commuter
With the bundle pack or adding the CH380D you get:
4 x Standard scenarios (timed), including 1) Dawn Service, 2) Evening Rescue, 3) Morning Service and 4) Night Express, plus 2 Free Roam Scenarios and 1 Quick Drive scenario (also serves as a “tutorial” for the
The scenarios are very good giving a wide variety of passenger duties, both non-stop and high speed suburban, utilising the whole track with a wide experience of weather, time of day and seasons. They should give many happy hours driving these nicely modelled HSTs. The fast ones were exhilarating.
How does it run on my PC?
My PC specs are listed below, and I did not see any real impact on frame rates, suffer any stuttering or minor pauses using this locomotive. I use TSX ON and OFF and in both cases performance was fine and image clarity very good.
Computer Specs
|
OS |
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1 |
Windows 8.1 update 1 |
|
CPU |
Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.20/3.60GHz |
i5, 4670K @ 4.4Ghz |
|
RAM |
16.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 802 x 2MHz (9-9-9-24) |
16.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 802 x 2MHz (9-9-9-24) |
|
Motherboard |
Z68X-UD3H-B3 (Socket 1155) |
Z87-G45 (socket 1150) |
|
Monitor |
DELL 24” Resolution (1920x1200@59Hz) |
Samsung Syncmaster 2233 R |
|
Graphics |
2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti (MSI - Maxwell) |
GTX760TI OC |
|
Storage |
223GB KINGSTON SV300S37A240G (SSD) |
256GB OCZ Vertex SSD |
|
Audio |
Realtek High Definition Audio |
Realtek High Definition Audio |
TSX Graphics settings
|
TSX Mode |
ON/OFF |
|
Screen Resolution |
Windows Recommended |
|
Full Screen |
Full Screen |
Advanced
|
Anti-Aliasing |
FXAA+2 x 2xSSAA |
|
Scenery Quality |
Highest Detail |
|
Scenery Density |
10 |
|
View Distance |
Highest Detail |
|
Shadow Quality |
High Detail |
|
Water Quality |
High Detail |
|
Procedural Flora |
ON |
|
Adaptive Bloom |
OFF |
|
Depth of Field |
OFF |
|
Lens Flare |
OFF |
Summary
I quite liked this HST bundle from Just Trains, being a high speed route it gives you the chance to run at 350Km/h and also keep the train under control at these speeds. I liked the scenarios as they were interesting and utilised the route in its entirety.
I did not notice any visual issues with this route, but found it better in terms of AA and Moire effects on the points to run it with TSX off. This is a limitation of the TS2014 game engine rather than any fault associated with this software.
However I did feel that the manuals could have been improved and the timed scenarios were difficult in some cases to get that highly prized green tick. Having said that this was a fun route and very enjoyable.
Again I have to repeat that because JT do not distribute their products via STEAM there will be no RSC/DTG community workshop scenarios. That aside I’m sure that there will be scenarios say from websites like UKTS , trainsim.com and others.
I give the route and the CH380D 7.5 out of 10 on my chuffometer – well worth it and with some minor improvements and the availability of more scenarios it would score even higher chuff chuffs..
Acknowledgements:
- Images included with the courtesy of
- Sichuan Province Wikimedia Commons,
- Shanghai–Wuhan–Chengdu High-Speed Railway courtesy Wikimedia Commons
- CRH1 at Guangshen Railway courtesy Wikimedia Commons, author Phil Sangwell
- Zefiro 380 (CH380D) Wikimedia Commons, author Björn König
- Full Route courtesy China Highlights http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/transportation/china-high-speed-rail.htm
- CH380D loco courtesy Wikimedia Commons, author 火车仔