Plan a railway with Rail Route Planner

Open, plan and build

1. Enable the correct TF3 mod. Use Rail Route Planner by RackAttack1, ID 6467712, following the installation and save-backup steps. The checked version 1.0 listing had no dependencies. Recheck the current listing before enabling a later version.
2. Use mouse and keyboard, then find the lower-bar button. The author answered a user who could not find the tool: its button is in the bottom middle of the lower bar. The checked description says controllers are not currently supported. Console download files on the listing do not establish working gamepad controls.
3. Select the route's start and end. The author allows points on the map or existing track ends. Choose the actual places your railway must connect, rather than assuming a colored line automatically joins a depot or station terminal.
4. Set constraints and preferences. Specify maximum grade and minimum turning radius, then adjust the relative preferences for travel time, flatness and straightness. The initial rough calculation can offer up to three possible routes. This is not a promise that every pair of endpoints has three valid solutions.
5. Choose a candidate for detailed planning. The author describes straight or constant-radius pieces with segment endpoints placed on the terrain. Follow the colored band and optional markers at the joins. Inspect the proposed path and its constraints before spending money on construction.
6. Build the pieces and check the joins. Use the normal track tools to lay the route. The planner does not automatically build rails, signals or a transport line. Check the final connections and required electrification, assign a suitable train and observe the complete trip.

Frame rate drops while a route is prepared?

In the listing's discussion, a player reported lower frame rate after the route appeared. RackAttack1 explains that the mod continues background preparation for the possible detailed routes after finding the initial options. The author expected that temporary work to finish fairly soon and asked for reports if performance never recovered. That is an explanation and expectation, not a guaranteed one-minute limit for every map or computer.

Let the current preparation finish before judging the resulting route. If the slowdown persists, preserve the mod version, map and endpoint/settings details and report the behavior through the author's discussion. No universal settings change or performance fix was demonstrated in the checked replies.

How to tell it worked

The tool produces a detailed route and its construction guides for your selected endpoints. After you lay the track, its joins connect the intended facilities and a compatible train can complete the journey. A finished colored plan alone is not a completed or profitable railway.

If you cannot complete the route

• No tool button: check the exact mod ID, completed download and this world's active mod list, then inspect the middle of the lower bar. For controller use, check for a later compatibility update; the checked version did not support it.
• No acceptable plan: inspect the chosen endpoints and constraints. Consider a different corridor or less restrictive values that your intended train can actually handle; the sources do not guarantee a result for arbitrary terrain.
• The built track does not match the plan: check each segment endpoint and actual track geometry. The guide is a construction aid, not an automatic repair of missed joins.
• The route is connected but trains wait: use the signal and passing-place checks. A planner route is not a complete signaling design.