Trainopedia

Objectives

You are building and managing your own railroad. Each level starts in year 1825 and continues up to present day. Your goal? To build a network of tracks between stations and lead each train to the right one. The more trains you round up, the more money you make.
The game contains 60 levels with different types of trains. On higher levels, trains depart more often.

Trains

Regular Trains

Regular Trains tug anywhere from one to five cars and bank up to 13 coins. Each level in Rails spans a period of over 100 years. Depending on the year, the appearance and speed of these trains may vary.

Old Steam Locomotive

Old Steam Locomotive

up to 1860

Steam Locomotive

Steam Locomotive

1840-1920

Old Electric Locomotive

Old Electric Locomotive

1870-1920

iesel Locomotive

Diesel Locomotive

since 1920

Electric Locomotive

Electric Locomotive

since 1920

Gas Turbine Locomotive

Gas Turbine Locomotive

since 1960

New Electric Locomotive

New Electric Locomotive

since 1982

Special Trains

These trains add a bit of variety to your train yard. Each has its own unique feature that either makes railway management more simple or complex.

Crazy Train

Crazy Train

This train is not looking to stop anytime soon. In fact, any attempt to stop a Crazy Train results in a crash. So herd it to any station without any red lights or dead ends.

Handcar

Handcar

This human-powered railroad car is much slower than its motorized peers. It's worth 15 coins, and whether it's 1848 or 2013, this baby isn't going to get any faster.

Snake Train

Snake Train

This locomotive is towing a total of eleven train cars, so make sure you have some long stretches of tracks in place. Snakes bring in 20 coins.

Kamikaze

Kamikaze

These trains are looking for trouble and aren't looking to pull into any station anytime soon. Crash it with another train to earn 1 coin or with another Kamikaze to gross 10 coins.

Partner Train

Partner Train

Carrying railroad cars for multiple companies, Partner Trains plan to swing by a couple of stations. The color of the locomotive indicates the next stop. Partner Trains bring in up to 18 coins.

Bomb Train

Bomb Train

Make sure you get Bomb Trains to their stations before the time runs out and they blow up. The newer the train, the less time you have to deliver it. These trains earn up to 13 coins.

Deflation Train

Deflation Train

Deflation Trains run on limited resources and cost less with each second on the road. The newer the train, the quicker the price falls, so don't take your time!

Chameleon

Chameleon

Chameleons tend to be quite unpredictable in that they unexpectedly change their color. The more modern the train, the more often it changes its color. These trains bring in up to 13 coins.

nflation Train

Inflation Train

Inflation Trains are all about making money. The longer they ride the rails of your train yard, the more money they earn.

Bumper Train

Bumper Train

Rubber bumpers set these trains apart from others, and they don't crash on impact with another train. Their speed doesn't depend on the year, and they net 6 coins.

Service Train

Service Train

These trains service your rail yard and clean up the rubble left from a collision. Service Trains can be deployed using a bonus.

Controlling Trains

A train's path can be changed by using railroad switches. Red railway signals, improperly positioned switches, dead-ends, and taking the train into the wrong station will all cause the train to reverse (the train moves slower in reverse). A switch occupied by a train can not be toggled.

Stations

Every level starts with just two stations (red and yellow). As time goes on, new stations appear (maximum of 6 total). Each one can only accept trains that have its color. Take note that trains appear at and depart from stations even if tracks leading the train into the yard have not been built. A countdown badge above any station displays the color and time left before the departure of the next train. If the entrance to the station is occupied by at least one car, the train's departure will be delayed.

Building Tracks

Connect all of the stations by drawing tracks between them. Since the grid limits how tracks can be drawn, try to build your railway using as few tracks as possible as to make room for future stations. Create alternative routes so trains always have a clear path to their stations. Note that you are not able to construct triple switches.

Bonuses

In Rails, there are a few different bonuses available to help you better manage your train yard. To use one of them you must activate the bonus and, depending on the type of bonus, tap a train or station. Bonuses can only be used ever so often, meaning that once you use a bonus, you’ll have to wait a certain amount of time before it can be used again.

Boost

Boost

Use this to speed up any train of your choice until the next stop. This can be a great way to get those slow Handrails out of the way of your trains.

Reverse

Reverse

Make a train go in reverse. For Snake Trains and Handcars, this is going to be a huge help! But do note that this doesn’t work on Crazy Trains.

Add

Add

Call a new train from a station of your choice. Obviously, this means you’ll round up more trains on a level, therefore making more money.

Service

Service

Use this to call the Service Train from any station. Then lead him to the wreckage in order for him to clean the tracks.

Cleanup

Cleanup

Clean the wreckage off of the tracks without calling the Service Train. This is a much quicker alternative to calling a Service Train.

Remove

Remove

Is your yard too crowded? Instantly remove any train from the tracks with this bonus to avoid seemingly unavoidable crashes.

Earning Money

You make money for each train that you lead to its station.
You lose money when:
a. A year passes.
b. You build tracks.
c. Trees and other objects on the map are cut down.
d. Trains crash.
e. A train's departure is delayed.