While you might initially not even notice the Train Station in SimCity Social (it's in the bottom of your original city square, in case you haven't checked), there's a great reason to send out trains early and often as you work to grow your small city: cheap Materials!Materials are the goods you use to purchase and upgrade buildings for your city, so the more you have the better. The Train Station allows you to choose from six products, each with a different time limit and purchase price, which will activate trains that will bring back hundreds of even thousands of Materials to your city over the span of a few (or quite a few) hours.
The Train Station can be used at Level 1 to operate six trains, but if you upgrade the Train Station, these stats can change. Here's a look at what you'll be dealing with until you upgrade (which is an entirely voluntary process).
Concrete
- Costs: 120 coins
- Returns in: 4 Hours
- Brings: 125 Materials
Lumber
- Costs: 480 coins
- Returns in: 12 Hours
- Brings: 625 Materials
Textiles
- Costs: 640 coins
- Returns in: 24 Hours
- Brings: 1350 Materials
Steel
- Costs: 360 coins
- Returns in: 8 Hours
- Brings: 400 Materials
Coal
- Costs: 720 coins
- Returns in: 18 Hours
- Brings: 1000 Materials
Oil
- Costs: 1200 coins
- Returns in: 36 Hours
- Brings: 2550 Materials
To upgrade your Train Station to Level 2, you'll need to collect three Community, two Goodwill and two Fury. These items are similar to those in The Sims Social on Facebook, as you can earn them by interacting with items in your own city or in your friends' cities. For instance, Goodwill is earned by completing nice actions when visiting neighbors, while Community items are earned by adding homes in your own city. We'll make sure to update this guide as we learn more about the stats of routes on Levels 2 and 3 of the Train Station in your city. Stay tuned!
Did you notice that there was a Train Station in your town in SimCity Social, or did you overlook it during the tutorial? Sound off in the comments!