104.6 kilometres, but only five base timetables: How large is the new JR EAST DLC really?

The Tōkaidō Line from Atami to Tokyo has been available for JR EAST Train Simulator since July 28. The DLC recreates the 104.6-kilometre reverse direction of the Tokyo-to-Atami route that has been sold since 2022. There are 21 stations between the two endpoints, and the route uses the ATS-P safety system.

The route length initially suggests a substantial package. However, players who own only the new DLC and the required base game receive five timetables for the E233-3000. These are not five complete journeys from Atami to Tokyo. Only three services use the entire route, while two begin in Ninomiya and Odawara respectively.

The first timetable is weekday service 1838E to Kagohara. It departs Ninomiya at 07:33 and reaches Tokyo at 08:54. The southern section between Atami and Ninomiya is therefore not included in this service. It uses a 15-car E233-3000.

The first complete journey is service 1560E to Ueno. It leaves Atami at 07:13 and arrives in Tokyo at 09:12. With a scheduled duration of one hour and 59 minutes, this is also the longest of the five included base timetables. A 15-car E233-3000 is used here as well.

Service 1866E to Takasaki also covers the complete route. It begins in Atami at 11:53 and ends in Tokyo at 13:37. This provides a journey at a noticeably later time of day, with a scheduled duration of one hour and 44 minutes.

The fourth service, 1874E to Kagohara, does not begin until 13:35 in Odawara. It reaches Tokyo at 14:58. In addition to its shorter route, this journey also uses a different train length: a ten-car E233-3000 instead of a 15-car formation.

The fifth base timetable is the former Rapid ACTY service 3532E to Utsunomiya. It is based on the March 2020 timetable, departs Atami at 15:15 and arrives in Tokyo at 16:47. Buyers therefore receive at least one historical rapid service that once again uses the complete route.

Adding the scheduled durations of all five services produces almost eight hours of driving. Repeated attempts, delays, varying signal aspects and replaying individual services are not included in that figure. The number of five timetables therefore does not fully describe how long players can spend with the DLC. At the same time, the selection of predefined operating patterns remains limited.

It is particularly important to distinguish between included and additionally unlocked services. The Steam page highlights compatibility with the E231 Series. Players who own the separate E231 DLC can use that train on the five existing timetables. The official description explicitly states that this does not add any new timetables. It is an alternative train for the same services.

Only owners of the separate Series 185 DLC receive additional services. It adds three historical timetables: Shōnan Liner No. 2 from Odawara to Tokyo, as well as Limited Express Odoriko No. 174 and Odoriko No. 114 from Atami to Tokyo. These services are based on the March 2013 timetable and are not part of the new route’s standalone base content.

There is therefore a clear difference between the largest advertised selection and the content available without further train DLCs. The new route DLC contains five timetables. The E231 allows those five journeys to be repeated with a second train. The Series 185 raises the number of genuinely different timetables to eight, but requires another purchase.

However, five base timetables are not unusual within this particular series. The existing reverse direction from Tokyo to Atami also contains five E233-3000 services. The new version is therefore not smaller than the older Tōkaidō DLC, but it adopts the same limited basic structure.

Automatic announcements, real crew voices and randomly changing signal aspects are intended to provide additional variety. As a result, the same timetable can develop differently across repeated attempts. Five timetables do not automatically mean only five identical journeys. However, variation within one service does not replace a larger selection of train types, starting points or times of day.

The deciding factor is therefore what buyers expect from a route DLC. Anyone primarily interested in long real-world driver’s-eye footage receives one of the simulator’s larger routes at 104.6 kilometres. Each of the three complete journeys lasts more than an hour and a half. Players looking for many different shifts, train types and operating situations may consider five base timetables rather limited.

The DLC is therefore geographically large but operationally compact. All 104.6 kilometres are present – but without additional train DLCs, we can drive the complete route in only three of the five included timetables.

Are five base timetables enough for a 104.6-kilometre route, or do you expect significantly more services from a route DLC?