🚧Train Locked/Unavailable because of Low Durability🚧
Have you ever noticed one of your favorite locomotives suddenly marked as "Under Maintenance" or unavailable for a dispatch—even when fully repaired and upgraded?
If this happens, don't worry: your train is not bugged or missing! This is a core gameplay mechanic tied to train durability and Era progression.
Here is a breakdown of how it works and how you can get the most out of your entire fleet.
How Train Durability Works
Every train in the game has a maximum durability capacity—the total amount of wear and tear it can handle before requiring servicing.
As you advance through the years and enter new Eras, the jobs become significantly more demanding, requiring higher durability ratings to complete.
If a job's durability requirement exceeds your train’s maximum durability capacity, the train cannot be assigned to that run—even if it is fully repaired.
In the dispatch menu, the game flags this train as "Insufficient Durability" because it cannot meet the minimum durability threshold demanded by that specific contract.
Fleet Progression & Era Obsolescence
As your rail empire grows across the decades, newer, more powerful locomotives and rolling stock are introduced. Naturally, stats on older trains become outmatched by late-game jobs—even if those older trains are fully maxed out.
This design encourages dispatchers to continually upgrade, modernize, and expand their fleet to take on late-era challenges!
What Should You Do?
If a train cannot be dispatched on a specific job:
Check for Available Upgrades: If the locomotive isn’t fully maxed, upgrading it may raise its durability enough to meet the job's requirement.
Deploy a Modern Train: Select a higher-era or higher-capacity locomotive from your active depot that meets the contract's durability threshold.
Put Older Trains on Automated Lines: Fully upgraded older locomotives don’t go to waste! You can assign them to your Automated Supply Lines, where they will continue to transport raw materials and generate steady, passive income without being restricted by job durability requirements.
By putting your vintage fleet to work on supply lines and deploying your cutting-edge engines on demanding regional runs, you will keep your entire rail network running at peak efficiency!
Happy Railroading!