Take a curve too fast – and the tram ends up beside the track: The Tram simulates real derailments!

In many railway and tram simulations, the vehicle remains safely on the rails even at completely excessive speeds. At worst, the scenario ends, the player receives a worse score or the game displays a simplified accident sequence. The Tram is taking a much stricter approach.

According to the development team, the tram is not attached to a smooth, invisible guide line. Its wheels move along two physically calculated rails. Uneven surfaces and damage to the track are therefore transferred to the vehicle, the body and eventually the player’s viewpoint. Impacts and swaying are not intended to come from a pre-made camera movement, but directly from the route and vehicle physics.

This system also makes derailments possible. The Tram is planned to include modern sections as well as old and heavily worn tracks. Players who underestimate their speed or enter a curve too quickly can, according to the developers, genuinely throw the vehicle off the rails. The tram therefore does not automatically remain on its intended path simply because it is a rail vehicle.

Weather, temperature and track condition also affect the handling. On slippery rails, the wheels can spin during acceleration or begin sliding under braking. This may become particularly critical when the tram weighs almost 25 tonnes with passengers and must stop in time before a tight curve or signal. The Steam page explicitly lists worn curved rails, gradients, speed restrictions, frost and changing weather conditions as challenges.

Steam lists the empty tram at around 16 tonnes. The difference compared with the almost 25-tonne figure comes from the occupied state: passengers increase the overall mass and therefore affect inertia, acceleration and braking distance. These connections are intended to ensure that a full tram does not handle exactly like an empty one.

The team also states that the more detailed physics calculations are distributed across multiple CPU cores. Even several trams visible at the same time are intended to remain fully functional vehicles that can be entered and driven. According to the developers, the effect of the physics calculations on frame rate is very small.

The Tram is planned to enter Early Access in 2026. Its planned launch content includes two routes with a combined length of around 15 kilometres, a classic tram with functional systems, and different seasons and weather conditions. The fictional city is inspired by Central and Eastern European cities of the 2000s, combining panel housing estates, forest sections, industrial areas and a historic city centre.

The Tram could therefore make a noticeable difference through its driving physics. We will not only have to serve stops and follow the timetable, but also take mass, adhesion, track condition and speed seriously. Of course, almost everyone will probably still test how quickly they really need to enter a curve before the tram jumps off the rails.

Did you already know that we can derail in The Tram? Are consequences like this important in a tram simulator?

A big thank you to Luggas for providing the screenshot! 🙂