How to build rail network for economic victory

[SupremacyKing2]

In my recent game, I built rail stations in several of my cities but it did not seem to connect them into a rail network. As a result, I was not allowed to build factories except in my capital. Is there a trick I am missing for building the rail network? Do the rail stations have to be on a road tile in line of sight of the other rail station? My rail stations were surrounded by urban districts? Do urban districts block rails? Or maybe my cities were too far away from each other?

Thanks for the help.

 

[King of Prussia]

rail stations have to be i believe no more than 10 tiles apart for them to connect to each other, and they do not work until they are connected to your capital. You can use ports as well to help connect cities.

I just spam buy railroads/ports in every settlement i can, unless i can build them quickly. Eventually they all start to work. This is why gold is one of my favorite resources. If you can, send merchants to cities with gold in them to get the extra bonus discount.

The connection system in civ 7 isnt really clear. They should always work between connected cities, regardless if the capital is connected imo. Reinforcing troops option should but doesnt take them into account.

Of course when its all said and done, your gold income shoots up massively. Even more so when you get factories online. You can railroad troops to distant lands if they are close enough, or at the very least intermediate islands.

 

[Leyrann]

Just to be sure: Did you build a rail station in your capital?

 

[Feyd Rautha]

I had this problem with half of my empire, but it turned out that a small filler city I placed in the Exploration age to grab resources didn't have a rail station. They have to be uninterrupted (even if the cities are within trade range it seems).

 

[Taefin]

In my most recent game I used some merchants to add connections from further rail cities to ones I knew were connected to capital. I’m guessing the game uses a minimal mapping of connections, not adding them to all settlements in range, and I probably could have identified the town without the rail station.

Also friendly PSA, I totally forgot I could use rail to move units until 3 turns into a war. I’ve done it before but so used to marching across the continent.

 

[SupremacyKing2]

Just to be sure: Did you build a rail station in your capital?

Yes. I had a rail station and a factory in my capital. I had rail stations in several nearby cities also but they could not build factories, presumably because they were not connected somehow.

 

[Alucard648]

I had this problem with half of my empire, but it turned out that a small filler city I placed in the Exploration age to grab resources didn't have a rail station. They have to be uninterrupted (even if the cities are within trade range it seems).

Uninterrupted also means none of road tiles connecting city and capital should go through ZOC of enemy unit.

 

[CliffCo]

In my recent game, I built rail stations in several of my cities but it did not seem to connect them into a rail network. As a result, I was not allowed to build factories except in my capital. Is there a trick I am missing for building the rail network? Do the rail stations have to be on a road tile in line of sight of the other rail station? My rail stations were surrounded by urban districts? Do urban districts block rails? Or maybe my cities were too far away from each other?

Thanks for the help.

I believe railroads are like roads in that if they are crossing a navigable river then you need to place a bridge for them to connect.

 

[Evolena]

It's a delicate balance between range and existence of roads (which may not be what they look like).
You don't need a Rail Station at each Settlement, sometimes just one Rail Station in the middle of your Settlements and/or one Road here and there are enough. The difficulty is to identify what is lacking, and that Merchants cannot always create the missing Roads (and the possibility may depend on which order you do it).
Ports help a lot, too. Bridges are not necessary, a "Ferry" (when a Road cross a Navigable River) is enough.

(I may have done a save just to test in my Settlement network by buying a Merchant in every one of them just to look at which Roads they could make and thus may be missing, and I tell you they end up costing as much as a single Rail Station, even with 6 Silver and as many Gold Resources)

 

[ydejin]

Uninterrupted also means none of road tiles connecting city and capital should go through ZOC of enemy unit.

Is that true? I’ve got my capital on one side of the continent and another city on the other side. I’m at war with multiple powers and they largely control the interior of the continent, but I still seem to be able to railroad units across from one side to the other. It could be no one is actually on the railroad line. I don’t have line of sight on a long section of the line anymore. But they do seem to have a lot of units in the area.

It would be great for gameplay if you could put a unit onto the railroad and temporarily cut it.

 

[Alucard648]

Is that true? I’ve got my capital on one side of the continent and another city on the other side. I’m at war with multiple powers and they largely control the interior of the continent, but I still seem to be able to railroad units across from one side to the other. It could be no one is actually on the railroad line. I don’t have line of sight on a long section of the line anymore. But they do seem to have a lot of units in the area.

It would be great for gameplay if you could put a unit onto the railroad and temporarily cut it.

That is really strange bug. This should not happen at all. Even in Civ1 enemy can cut railroad just by standing next to it.

 

[wesplaysciv]

Well, in Civ 6 the railroad movement cost benefit didn't depend on where the railroad was / who built it... but surely for this railroad movement command they wouldn't want to design it that way. Like many things, not clear if bug or intended at this stage...

 

[StargazingDog]

Is that true? I’ve got my capital on one side of the continent and another city on the other side. I’m at war with multiple powers and they largely control the interior of the continent, but I still seem to be able to railroad units across from one side to the other. It could be no one is actually on the railroad line. I don’t have line of sight on a long section of the line anymore. But they do seem to have a lot of units in the area.

It would be great for gameplay if you could put a unit onto the railroad and temporarily cut it.

Rail networks continue via port. Either a certain distance over deep ocean, or infinite distance if on same continent.

 

[Taefin]

Definitely need to have a show the “hidden” factory with a message reeling you want you need to build before it becomes available.

I find it most unintuitive that individual coastal cities need a port AND a rail station, since the factory is already in a city connected to the capital by a port.

Side question: Can you rail travel oversees to cities with a port and rail station?

 

[Feyd Rautha]

Definitely need to have a show the “hidden” factory with a message reeling you want you need to build before it becomes available.

I find it most unintuitive that individual coastal cities need a port AND a rail station, since the factory is already in a city connected to the capital by a port.

Side question: Can you rail travel oversees to cities with a port and rail station?

I was able to travel from one port to another, but in my last game I couldn't. I didn't check on placement of my port in regards to the rail station nor did I check for a city connection between the city the unit was in and the target port.

 

[Evolena]

Definitely need to have a show the “hidden” factory with a message reeling you want you need to build before it becomes available.

I find it most unintuitive that individual coastal cities need a port AND a rail station, since the factory is already in a city connected to the capital by a port.

You can also only do the Rail Station and build a road with a Merchant. [assuming Coastal on a continent land mass, not an island]
Ports are only necessary to make the Railroad network cross the ocean, and optional to facilitate some difficult land connection.

Side question: Can you rail travel oversees to cities with a port and rail station?

No.