The Association ‘Towarzystwo Twórców Symulatorów Kolejowych’ (TTSK, The Society of Railway Simulator Creators) has been estabilished on the 9th of November 2021. Seven people joined the Association on its setup, among whom were railwaymen, software developers, teachers and administrators. We share the common interest in railways and moving their reality to the virtual world of railway simulators. The history of the Association is short, however the project, in which we’ve worked informally until the Association has been estabilished, has already been developed for six years. Appointment of the Association will allow us to continue developing the project on different level than until now. The legal personality of the Association allows to reach the insitutions and companies from the railway industry, as well as to sign the agreements letting us to get access to inaccessible things and information.

Over the course of over 6 years of work, we have primarily focused on continuously developing the TrainDriver2 simulator, which has gained a wide following during this time. Alongside the “main simulator,” a number of smaller projects have also been created, including: the Domino-panel Simulator, Electronic Control Panel Simulator, and Traffic Dispatcher Assistance System. Currently, we are continuing work on these mentioned projects.

Our simulators are developed on multiple levels. We put particular emphasis on recreating the real world. We immortalize both current and historical rolling stock as well as the entire railway infrastructure in the form of 3D models. To achieve this, we digitize documentation, schematics, and descriptions. We conduct on-site activities such as taking photos and audio and video recordings. Materials for building our simulator are also obtained through discussions with railway employees, who provide us with knowledge often unavailable in literature or documentation.

The editor available in the simulator allows anyone to recreate both existing and liquidated railway lines in Poland. At the moment, the simulator features several dozen signal boxes. We are most proud of the project to recreate the Łódź Commuter Railway (ŁKA) network, which currently consists of 18 signal boxes in our simulator, covering 170 km of railway lines. The project is still undergoing intensive development, and we estimate that we have currently replicated 30% of the real ŁKA routes.

In addition to activities directly related to the simulator, our efforts also have a popularizing and educational aspect. We introduce the world of railways to young enthusiasts and individuals who do not have daily contact with railways from the inside. We conduct training on simulator operation, which is particularly useful for future railway workers in professions such as train drivers or traffic dispatchers. We strive for every simulator user to use it in accordance with applicable regulations, especially adhering to railway safety rules.

We must also not forget the “Founding Fathers” of this project. Unfortunately, there is no one left from the original team that started work on the simulator in the current team. Without them, we wouldn’t be here. Thank you!