KINGFISHER JUNCTION

OBJECTIVE: read the timetable, plan several movements ahead, keep platforms available and avoid conflicts. The interlocking prevents collisions; poor decisions create delay and gridlock instead.

Passenger services must stop at a suitable platform. Freights are best sent through the GOODS LOOP. Dedicated ENTRY and EXIT lines make movements easier to read, and non-crossing arrival/departure routes can run at the same time. Once an arriving train has physically entered the station and cleared the throat, its entry line is released so you can pre-set the next arrival into a different platform. A train waiting at a red signal will remain there until you set a route. Pause freely — this is a planning game, not a twitch game.