Getting Started with Train Sim World 7

Before you boot the sim

Train Sim World 7 full launch is 15 September 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Steam, and the Epic Games Store. Deluxe and Ultimate early access began 10 September 2026 at 16:00 BST on consoles and 18:00 BST on PC. There is no PlayStation 4 or Xbox One build.

Pick an edition on the editions comparison before you treat the main menu as broken. Free Starter is the Training Center only. Standard is the three core routes. Deluxe is Standard plus the Northern Class 333, DB BR 412 ICE 4, GP49H-3, and five-day early access. Ultimate is Deluxe plus selected Train Sim World 6 Deluxe routes: Riviera Line, Class 220, Leipzig–Dresden, Nahverkehr Dresden, BR 294, Morristown Line, and NJ Transit ALP-45DP.

Then install in the order described in how to download Train Sim World 7. Standard is five downloads: Free Starter plus four route add-ons. The client can open after Starter. The menu stays empty until the rest finishes. Close the game and wait.

On PC, skim system requirements and leave DirectX 12 on. Chase Epic, DLSS 4.5, or FSR 4 later from graphics settings. Steam Cloud is supported. Dovetail hoped for Steam Deck verification; do not start your first hour on a handheld.

First-time setup

You can skip Dovetail Live on first boot. Live is optional for Training Center, Timetable, Free Roam, and Freight Hauler. Live Weather does require a Live login. Creators Club sharing also wants Live. Create the account when you actually need weather or sharing, not because the splash screen asked.

If you already have a Train Sim World 2–6 profile on the same machine, import it. Do not create a second profile with the same name. New players just name a fresh profile and continue.

Difficulty sets assists, HUD, and whether Training Center is offered:

• Beginner turns on beginner controls and full player assists. Start here.
• Standard sends you toward Journey on a chosen route, with the normal HUD.
• Experienced drops you on the main menu with assists off and a minimal HUD.

You can change all of this later under Settings. The important beginner toggle is Settings > Controls. At launch, simplified driving works in Timetable and Free Roam only. A warning appears if you pick an incompatible mode.

Player Assist is a separate row: auto coupling, automatic manual junctions, notifications, Expert Mode, and AI Conductor (Always on Beginner, Realistic on Standard and Expert). AI Conductor can own the doors when you only want to drive. Full keyboard, PlayStation, and Xbox tables live on the controls reference.

Safety systems can be set on by default so AWS, PZB, and similar devices are already live when you take a cab. Leave that off until you understand the alerter. The first hour is about moving, stopping, and not fighting a black console.

Training Center, then one real service

Free Starter exists so you can learn steam, diesel, and electric traction, walk a yard, throw junctions, couple, and read signals without owning a paid route. Finish the passenger module and at least one freight or steam module before you touch Yorkshire. The Training Center also introduces Free Roam spawning so you are not lost when you later build your own train.

When the tutorials feel familiar, take a Class 331 stopping service on Airedale & Wharfedale. It is the gentlest paid start: Northern interiors, frequent stations, and a network that teaches doors better than a 100 km dash. Leave beginner controls on. Your job is W/S for direction, A/D for throttle, ;/' for brake, and Y/U for doors. Do not hunt pantograph switches yet.

After that first diagram:

• Stay in Yorkshire for LNER 801 express flavour or a Class 66 HYA limestone run from Rylstone if you want freight without opening a new map.
• Move to Florida Tri-Rail when you want diesels, Rotem cars, and CSX yards.
• Move to Bahnstrecke Nürnberg–Würzburg when you want BR 440 regionals or ICE 1. Save deluxe locomotives such as ICE 4 and the Class 333 until the door drill is automatic.

Included traction for the three cores is listed on standard locomotives. Route pages carry station lists and what layers onto each timetable.

What to play after the first service

Read game modes before you tap every tile. Journey is a curated tour of a route’s introductions and scenarios. Timetable is the living railway. Conductor is tickets and doors. Scenario is a scripted brief. Free Roam is spawn-your-own. Freight Hauler is random wagons looking for a home, and it only runs on TSW7 core routes at launch.

Do not start Freight Hauler as your second click. Do two or three passenger diagrams so you can read the live map, then try a short wagon count on Yorkshire or Florida.

Older add-ons need a Train Sim World 7 download. Steam can use compatible content during early access; consoles wait for full launch. The Tadami Line is a later add-on on the roadmap, not a first-night plan.

Your first week is not a completionist sweep. Five Northern diagrams, one HYA limestone, then one Florida passenger. Ignore mastery overlays until Live Weather is a choice you actually want. Come back to this page only if the menu is empty or you skipped Training Center; otherwise pick the matching procedure from the guides hub.