TSW5 is getting incredibly well supported by Dovetail and various third party developers, and Pfälzische Ludwigsbahn: Mannheim - Kaiserslautern is the latest German DLC route. This content requires the base game Train Sim World® 5 in order to play, which is available on Game Pass at the moment.
This is a recreation of a historically important mainline, the Pfälzische Ludwigsbahn, and is set around the year 2010. The line originally terminated on the west side of the Rhine at Ludswighafen, but was extended over the eastern bank to Mannheim. Built in sections, the construction was carried out during the mid-1800s, eventually creating a seamless through line which now forms part of the Frankfurt to Paris route.
Divided into two distinct halves, the track runs relatively straight and level through flattish farmland between Mannheim in the east and Neustadt at the midpoint of the route, while to the western end the line changes completely in character, with lots of curves, hills and valleys, meandering uphill through dense forests and tunnels until you reach Kaiserslautern.
The BR 406 DB ICE is Germany's fastest InterCity train, capable of over 330kph (205mph), and eats up the Mannheim to Kaiserslautern route very quickly, taking only around 40 minutes to get from one end to the other.
The classic BR 111 DB has a large role in the route, running push-pull services with the DABpbzfa 767.1 cab car and Doppelstock coaches in DB red livery. The BR 111 has a "tap changer" control system, which is difficult to learn but satisfying to master.
The route's freight hauler is the BR 185.2 DB, pulling various consists made up of mainly Sggmrss, Zacns & Roos-T freight wagons, sometimes being used as a double-header with longer or heavier trains.
The familiar BR 425 DBTR runs the local passenger services in various configurations, and is easy and fun to drive, making it an excellent starting point.
Since the release of TSW5 you can now become a driver or conductor on the passenger routes, checking tickets and opening/closing the doors when the train stops at a station.
There are the usual selection of Timetabled Services, Scenarios and Route Tasks to complete along with a substantial Journey Mode feature, which ties together Training, Scenarios and Timetabled Services. If you own any other German routes or Locomotive DLCs you will also find a large number of layered services (see below.) The Scenarios continue the recent trend of being more imaginative, including one ironically inspired by real events.
The route isn't particularly eye-catching but Mannheim's classic station building is well-modelled as well as the colossal diamond-shaped Victoria-Turm business centre opposite, plonked at an angle between the tracks and the Rhine river. As magnificent as the modelling of the trains is, the passengers have their usual variable appearance and behaviour, sometimes acting as they should, and sometimes acting like suicidal robot-sheep. They aren't the best-looking lot either, as you can see below, a security guard that looks half dead and another who had a nasty accident with a hair trimmer...
I guess it wouldn't be TSW without something to complain about, and we found one glaring bug in the "Very Important Inspection" Scenario, which wasn't fatal but meant it was impossible to pass it with a Gold award.
Another decent, if uninspiring, route, Pfälzische Ludwigsbahn: Mannheim - Kaiserslautern certainly supplies some variety, but is probably only one for German rail fans and TSW5 completionists.
Many thanks to Dovetail Games and Indigo Pearl for the review code.