Just had an idea - I don't think you should be able to connect cities to each other by railroad unless they have a railway Station.

Secondly - there should be difference between main railway lines linking city to city - and just mass transit lines for the city use around the other city squares.

Eg- to connect City to city you will have to build railway Station.

To build railroads or local railways around the other city square - one must build the mass transit improvment.

Also - there could be a correspondance with how many railway stations you have, and how much trade is generatedd as well as other things that may be also included or effected by this.

I think that all of the effort needed in to obtain coal pays for anything and everything as far as train engines and railway stations.

It's an idea that's already been discussed, but not quite this way. You should be able to build rail wherever you like, station or not - it's not as if they built the stations first, and then built rail to connect them.

But railway stations are a really useful idea for getting rid of TONS of micromanagement. Connect a city by rail; build a railway station; and that's how you get the tile bonuses. It's one way to eliminate having to build rail in all the tiles.

...ummm...mmmaaabbbyyy.........