About Us

Welcome to ThirdRails.org

Drive Connected. Drive Immersive.

ThirdRails transforms Train Simulator Classic and Train Sim World into a connected, living railway experience, with real-time radar tracking, live schedules, spoken announcements, and a growing multiplayer-style community.
Where every journey is shared — every ride feels alive — and an isolated drive becomes a living, breathing railway world.

ThirdRails is a free live map tracker for Dovetail Games Train Simulator Classic and Train Sim World.
It tracks your train’s journey in real-time across detailed maps — keeping you on course, helping you discover landmarks, and opening the door to unprecedented possibilities in connected rail simulation.

New in version 9.0:
Full Support for Train Sim World 5! Learn more here

Looking for a Multiplayer Experience in TSC:
Implement a Multiplayer Scenario Learn more here


Follow your ride on any device

Monitor your journey on any device, whether on top of the game, a second screen, or an out-of-the-cab experience via your cellphone or tablet using a web browser.

Extend TS GamePlay

ThirdRails Map Tool enhances your Train Simulator gameplay with TS Drives and Real Drives, logging your ride to the Whistle Board.
Additionally, it offers a multiplayer-style feature through the Community Radar, providing a shared experience with other players in real time.

Community driven

Do you have an idea, suggestion, improvement, or bug report?
Let us know, and we'll do our best to incorporate your ideas and features. Join our community to help shape the future of ThirdRails!

Questions?

Do you have a question, or want to know how things work?
Visit the Learn page on this site, you will find here a Q&A, tutorials and other infos.


The rails just got a whole lot more connected


It's free!

But the ThirdRails project depends on your donations!
Become a ThirdRails Friend and get even more benefits!
For more info and to make your donation please visit the donation page

Work In Progress

20-05-2025: Released ThirdRails 9!
Adding Full Support for Train Sim World 5! ThirdRails for TSW5 users
For what's new and work in progress consult the Road Map

Latest Media and Tutorials

Executing a Real Drive in Train Sim World 5
ThirdRails 6: Extended Gameplay Explained
Sneak Preview ThirdRails 6: Quick Drive Scenario Editing
TS Drive Freight Services
TS Drives, spoken announcement for all TS scenarios
Using the Timetable HUD and Route Chaining
ThirdRails Timetable HUD Tutorial
Announcements Explained
More media on our Youtube Channel and Twitch Channel

Contact

Do you have a question, found a bug or have an idea?
Contact us by e-mail, steam community or one of the other social channels and we will try to help you out!


ThirdRails

Extend Train Simulator Gameplay

ThirdRails is far more than just a tracker or route explorer—it’s a complete enhancement suite for Train Simulator Classic and Train Sim World.
Unlock a whole new layer of immersion, interaction, and realism that takes your gameplay to the next level.

ThirdRails Extended Gameplay Explained, watch now on ThirdRails TV 

Real Drives

With ThirdRails Real Drives, you can jump into real-world train services—live and in sync with the actual timetable—by loading a schedule with a single click.
Powered by top-tier timetable providers from across Europe and the UK, this opens the door to virtually limitless driving opportunities.
Imagine choosing from thousands of real services, any time of day, on countless routes—each offering a unique experience based on real-life operations, delays, and train types. No two drives are ever the same.
And it gets better: imagine picking a route with your friends, each selecting a different real-life service on the same line. You’ll see each other on the radar in real time and—while technically not inside the same game session—it will feel like you’re driving side-by-side on the same network. It's as close to multiplayer rail simulation as it gets.
Want even more immersion?
Enable spoken announcements on any route or scenario with just one click, using the built-in ThirdRails HUD. Choose from over 450 Azure AI Neural Voices in nearly every language. English, German, and Dutch are natively supported—other languages are available via custom translations.

Multiplayer Experience

While ThirdRails doesn’t offer direct multiplayer gameplay, it enables a shared experience that feels remarkably close.
In Train Sim World, you can coordinate with friends to populate the same timetable, allowing you to meet and drive alongside each other in-game—it's not true multiplayer, but it certainly feels like it.
In Train Simulator Classic, you can achieve a similar experience using our Multiplayer Scenario technique, where each player runs their own service within a synchronized scenario.
Live radar tracking lets you see where everyone is in real time, follow each other's movements, and enjoy the network together—bringing a whole new social dimension to your sessions.

To be honest, it doesn't get more realistic than this, does it?

TSC Drives

With TS Drives, you can launch any Career or Standard scenario directly from the integrated TS catalog reader and enjoy the full experience with the ThirdRails HUD.
Connect with fellow drivers through the Community Radar, receive spoken announcements in any language, and enhance your drive with live track insights via the HUD radar.


Whistle Board

With ThirdRails Whistle Board Train Simulation goes social!
Build your driver profile by collecting data per ride. Connect with your friends, and compete for the weekly KOM (King Of the Miles).
Learn and explore new routes and scenario's.
Get unlimited insights in your performance from your personal logbook using your own designed dashboards.

Inspire and get inspired!

Looking for ThirdRails Workshop scenario's?

Our scenario's, formerly hosted on ThirdRails Workshop, are now hosted at dutch Train Simulator Community DutchSims:
BeenTrain's scenario's

Features Overview