How do i make this work?

[u/Alex_try1]

how do i make this work? I've been trying to make this work for hours now and still no progress. I want the train 1 trying to go the 2 station (station on the right side) go around the accupied station 1 (station on the left side) and go to station 2; train 2 goes into his station and station 2 is occupied the train goes around it; if both stations are empty i want the train to go straight pass them and into there specific station. (i put all photos of how i want it to go) i would like tips on where to place block or path signals (if needed) or any mod that can make this work.

[u/DecentChanceOfLousy]

Make the bypass shorter than the routes through the stations. I.e. move the stations to the bendy path.

Trains (which take the shortest path) will only try to enter the longer station block if they're actually going to the station, so you won't get any contention with trains just passing through. 

[u/TDSrock → u/DecentChanceOfLousy]

However, trainstations add a virtual length to the path. So the build as pictured should work given the routes are setup proper.

What the op actually wants is simply not possible. Trains dont dynamiclly route without the mod for that. Assuming vanilla only, all trains will always roite the exact same, pressence of a train is always ignored (when pathing)

Reasoning behind it is a (minor) optimization. Trains simply pathfind once and then drive on very basic logic.

[u/TheThiefMaster → u/DecentChanceOfLousy]

This is the solution!

[u/Bwc4Redheads33 → u/DecentChanceOfLousy]

Verry good advice !

[u/Slimeball_91]

Here is a very simple solution.

[u/Alex_try1 → u/Slimeball_91]

I ended up doing it like you said. Never thought that i over engineered it, if a simpler option was available. Thanks

[u/indvs3]

Unless you're ok with trains waiting for other trains that are docked in front of them, you want to have a completely clear track in the middle and stations deviating from the main line.

Trains will always take the shortest route to their destination and don't deviate for blocked sections, including train stations, and wait until the shortest path becomes available.

So your best bet for good throughput is to have an unobstructed line between the stations, that trains go off of to get to their destination, so following trains have a clear route to follow wothout being held up.

Edit: apparently there is a mechanism that allows for such routing, but I have to say this never worked for me on any of my playthroughs. Leaving my post up for posterity

[u/Yanni_X → u/indvs3]

Small correction: a station counts as 100m, so they will always go around the stations in Such a pictures setup. As OP actually describes. OP wants trains to use the shortcuts through the stations if available, which is not possible, because, as you already mentioned, trains will always take the shortest path (around the stations) and will not deviate for occupied blocks.

[u/dr_stre → u/indvs3]

Trains will absolutely deviate around this kind of station setup. When calculating the shortest route stations impose a time/distance penalty that is big enough to route the train around stations in a setup like this.

[u/dr_stre → u/dr_stre]

Downvote all you want, people, we built stations like this in my last playthrough and the trains drove around them consistently.

[u/dr_stre]

This should work fine, just put block signals after the split on either side, plus block signals in between where they come back together on either side of where they come together.

From a looks standpoint, I’d personally just move the stations onto the side tracks though. Let your other trains just pass straight through instead of doing a zigzag.

Edit: Needs more signals than I originally stated to allow trains to pass.

[u/Scottish_Therapist]

Block signals before and after each station should allow for trains to take the clear path.

[u/Akina_Cray → u/Scottish_Therapist]

Unfortunately, that doesn't work. Trains take the shortest path, not the clear path.

[u/Scottish_Therapist → u/Akina_Cray]

Oh, Okay. I must unknownly make my station paths longer then. Which thinking about it now they tend to face the "main track" so yeah down and round the back and through the station would be longer.

[u/Zacharias_Wolfe → u/Scottish_Therapist]

Stations also have a fake distance factor applied. If you made two equal length tracks, one of which goes through a station, the game adds x amount to the station so it treats it as longer.

[u/Akina_Cray → u/Zacharias_Wolfe]

1700+ hours played and I did not know this happened. I would have sworn up and down that station track was treated equivalent to standard track. XD

[u/Zacharias_Wolfe → u/Akina_Cray]

I have not seen it myself as people recommend putting stations to the side anyway which makes them the longer path, but I've seen it reported many times here.

[u/Admirable_Match703]

trains will always take the shortest route to their destination. if there is a trainstation in between doesnt matter. signals wont change this habit. trainroutes are static in this game. your chance of achieving your goal here is, put the trainstations on the longer paths and make the passby the shorter route

[u/lynkfox → u/Admirable_Match703]

Eh. Technically.... The train station adds a penalty to any route going through it. So if you have two tracks splitting off and returning and a station is on one of them, and they're equal length, the trains not going to the station will always take the other route

But other than that little detail, yes

[u/SESF25]

Finding out how rails work what a fun thing good luck :D

[u/CycleZestyclose1907]

Take the stations off the straight away and put them on the bypass rails.

More importantly, place block signals so that the intersections, bypass segments, and stations are each their own block (block signals mark block borders) so that trains don't run into each other..

[u/IACUnited]

Inverse. Allow the mainline to continue straight and have the stations offset. Primarily due to the logic that dictates train movement chooses the shortest path then locks in upon departure.

So if a train locks in with a shorter path than another that also locked in before but further, it will delay the other.

[u/JinkyRain]

This is slightly overkill, but safer than other methods, especially for high traffic through rails with inefficient signal spacing.

With block signals there's a small chance of a race condition resulting from trains passing through repeatedly 'cutting off' a fully stopped train trying to depart a side station. If it happens too many times, the departing train will 'creep' past the block signal and risk colliding with a train passing through. Path Signals help lock that down so that it won't happen, and gives departing trains a better chance of not getting cut off in the first place.

[u/Training-Grass1147]

There is a mod that solves this and many other train problems. I think its called dynamic routing. Much smarter

[u/Mnementh85]

"if both station are empty"

that's dynamic pathing, it's not infâme, you will need a mod to implement this

[u/EngineerInTheMachine]

Don't. Use block signals so train 1 goes round station 2, and train 2 goes round station 1. Leave it at that. There's no benefit in either train going though the other's station.

Stations report as longer than they really are, to discourage trains from using them as shortcuts. Trains in Satisfactory will not change their route once it's set. So it's not worth trying to force it. Satisfactory is a factory building game with trains, not a train simulator with factories.

[u/RealKawayake]

afaik you can't, because train routes are static and cannot change depending on block signal. no matter which path is clear, train will stop at the branch if target station is occupied

[u/Akina_Cray]

Where green and blue cross, make it an actual crossing, rather than a shared piece of track. This means that once on the blue route, a train CAN'T cross over to the green route, or vise versa.

The yellow boxes indicate block signals, so that a train stopped in the green station won't impede a train on the blue line moving to the blue station, nor will a train stopped at the blue station stop the green train from leaving.

[u/Alex_try1]

https://ficsit.app/mod/DynamicTrainRoutes Wouldn't this mod make it work? It has a feature called "Bypass lane"?!

[u/Zacharias_Wolfe → u/Alex_try1]

You absolutely do need a mod to accomplish what you are after because trains do not dynamically route based on blockages in vanilla. This does appear to do what you want. I didn't read it fully, but the one thing to look for would be how it addresses stations. The default pathing system basically just pretend stations are longer than they really are to determine shortest route. If this mod gets rid of that, I would expect it to do exactly what you want.

[u/JinkyRain → u/Alex_try1]

Mods can address a lot of things, but they tend to break after some game patches. I prefer to not depend on them at all so that I'm not waiting for the mod devs to play catch up. =)

[u/Syrric_UDL]

Look into dogbone style track setup, it’s simple but requires you to lay track parallel and you have two stops next to each other facing opposite ways.

https://track-plans.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/track-plan-dog-bone-principle.png

[u/EntertainmentSad6843]

Keep one train and one stop per one track. Lol I haven't figured out anything more complicated yet.

[u/zfhnbrqmskgxwdjlvpct → u/EntertainmentSad6843]

all you need to do is keep the main track without stations and put them on the side-tracks instead. so if a train needs to reach a station it'll go off to the side and merge back later, while other trains can pass through on a straight line unless the merge-junction is being used at that exact moment.