LINE UP! Metro Tycoon lines are connected station routes: you drag a new station onto an existing route, pay for the connection, and expand the network as your city earns more cash. The most reliable plan is to start with a short, affordable route, fill its train capacity, and extend only after the line is producing dependable income. Longer routes, branches, and a circle line can cover more of the map, but they also consume more of the same budget needed for trains, station upgrades, and repairs.
LINE UP! Metro Tycoon line types
The names below describe the practical role of each line shape or expansion target. They are planning categories rather than a universal price list. The current city map and purchase panel remain the authority for the next available connection.
| Line or route type | What it does | Best use | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial connection | Links the starting station to a nearby station and opens basic passenger flow | Choose a nearby, useful station with a manageable construction cost | Spending too far from the start can leave too little cash for trains |
| Short line | Connects two or three stations at relatively low cost | Build the first dependable income route and observe passenger flow | Adding stations without adding capacity can reduce service quality |
| Extended line | Continues an established route toward additional stations | Follow proven passenger demand from the end of a stable line | Track, station, and maintenance costs rise as the route grows |
| Branch | Extends from the main line toward another group of stations | Reach a useful direction or newly available area | The branch needs its own connection budget and enough train capacity |
| Multi-stop route | Lets one line serve several connected destinations | Cover several nearby passenger sources with one network route | Longer service patterns need closer attention to capacity and happiness |
| Line 1 | Acts as a city network's early foundation route | Establish the first income base before committing to wider expansion | The exact stations differ by city |
| Line 2 and Line 3 | Add further routes after city progress and budget allow | Extend coverage once earlier routes are funded and supplied with trains | There is no confirmed universal station order or price list |
| Circle line | Closes available connections into a complete loop | Use surplus budget to finish a mature network and cover more stations | Completion depends on the connections available on that city map |
The table is most useful as a decision guide. A short line is not automatically weaker than a long one: it can be easier to fund, repair, and equip while you learn where passengers are coming from. An extended line increases potential coverage, while a branch changes the direction of coverage. A circle line is a completion goal, not a reason to spend all available cash before the existing routes can carry passengers.
How lines connect stations
Choose a city and begin from the initial station shown on its map. To make a connection, select the target station and drag it onto the existing line. The Seoul example shows the basic interaction: the player selects Seoul Station, drags it to another station, and opens the first line. The New York example similarly shows Times Square being dragged to a station before neighboring stations are connected. Each purchase uses Money and may unlock another area or connection on the map.
Connect stations and expand the New York metro map
These moments show the station-dragging and connection purchases described in the line-building and branch-expansion guidance.
Build outward in small, readable decisions. Nearby stations with a lower displayed cost are safer early choices because they leave cash for trains and allow you to see whether the route is attracting passengers. Once the route is stable, continue from its end to extend it, or buy a branch when the new direction has a clear purpose. Do not treat the station sequence shown in one city as a blueprint for every city: the available stations and line combinations vary by map.
There are three practical checks after every connection:
- Coverage: Does the new station add a useful destination or passenger source rather than only length?
- Capacity: Can the line's current trains serve the additional stops?
- Budget: Will enough Money remain for trains, station upgrades, and repairs?
If one answer is no, pause the next connection. A route that covers less territory but runs consistently can fund its next extension more safely than a large, under-equipped network.
Line 1, Line 2, and Line 3 planning
Line 1 should normally be treated as the anchor route. Establish a complete short connection, purchase or assign trains to its available slots, and let it create a cash base before chasing distant stations. The line is valuable because it gives you a working reference: you can compare new passenger flow with the route that already earns money instead of expanding blindly.
Line 2 and Line 3 are additional expansion targets, not fixed global station lists. The Seoul footage shows a second line opening after the initial route and later demonstrates further line openings and extensions. That is useful evidence for the progression pattern, but it does not establish one station order, cost, or route layout for every city. The current map should decide which connection is actually available and whether it fits your funds.
Use this order when deciding whether to open another line:
- Keep the existing route connected and supplied with trains.
- Check the new line's displayed station and track cost.
- Prefer a connection that adds a new area or passenger source.
- Fill empty train slots before adding several more stations.
- Repair or upgrade the busiest route if service quality is falling.
This keeps Line 2 or Line 3 from becoming an isolated purchase that competes with Line 1 for the same cash and train capacity. It also makes it easier to identify which route is responsible for a change in income or Happiness.
Trains, stations, and Happiness on a growing route
Every new station increases potential coverage, but the network still needs transport capacity and maintained infrastructure. A recorded expansion example shows Happiness falling to about 75% while more stations are purchased. The recovery actions shown are to fill all empty train slots, upgrade stations, and repair lines or trains one by one. Treat the percentage as an example of the tradeoff, not as a permanent threshold: the live game panel can change with the state of your network.
After extending a line, open the train controls and fill empty slots where the route needs them. Then inspect the line and its stations. Station upgrades can improve the network's state, while repairs prevent deteriorating train or line quality from continuing to hurt service. The same example recommends checking repairs when train condition falls below roughly 70%; use the current condition display rather than relying on that example as a hard rule.
Tourists and landmarks can add income that is reinvested into track, stations, and trains. That income does not remove the capacity decision: a profitable line can still lose service quality if its route grows faster than its trains and stations. For that reason, expansion should alternate between a connection and the infrastructure needed to run it.
Branches, circle lines, and city differences
A branch is best understood as a change in direction from the main route. It can open another group of stations and increase map coverage, but it does not make the original route's capacity problem disappear. The New York example shows a connection unlocking the Port Washington branch. That confirms the kind of outcome a branch can provide, not a universal requirement or price for all cities.
The circle line is a later network shape. One recorded example completes the available line purchases until the route forms a complete circle, then moves on to network upgrades. If the current map offers the required closing connections, finishing them can be a useful objective after the main routes are funded. Before buying the final links, keep enough cash for trains, station upgrades, and repairs; a circle with poor service is less useful than a smaller line that remains reliable.
Complete a circle line before upgrading the network
The linked moment supports the circle-line guidance by showing the available connections completed into a full loop before network upgrades.
City names and line labels should therefore be read in context. New York and Seoul provide examples of staged expansion, but the evidence does not support a single cross-city table of Line 1, Line 2, or Line 3 stations and prices. When a guide or remembered route conflicts with the map in front of you, follow the displayed station, cost, and unlock state.
Automation and mutable line decisions
If you use Automation, Auto Build can lay metro sections according to a best-payback strategy, the cheapest available option, or a line-by-line strategy. Those modes change how connections are selected, so review the chosen strategy before allowing it to spend your cash. Automation can also buy trains, upgrade stations, repair trains, and switch cities, which makes it useful for maintaining a broad network but not a substitute for checking whether a newly built line has enough capacity.
Manual planning is preferable when you are deciding which passenger area to cover or saving for a circle-line connection. Automation is more useful after your priorities are clear and you want routine purchases or repairs handled consistently. In either case, verify the current line panel after a purchase: available connections, prices, station levels, train condition, and Happiness are mutable game-state values rather than fixed values shared by every city.
The core rule is simple: connect useful nearby stations first, make Line 1 pay for itself, add trains and upgrades as coverage grows, and use branches or a circle line only when the map and budget support them. This approach preserves flexibility when the next city or line exposes a different station layout.
First-time LINE UP! Metro Tycoon line questions
Can Auto Build choose which metro sections to purchase?
Yes. Auto Build can place sections using a best-payback, cheapest, or line-by-line strategy. Check the selected strategy and keep an eye on the current line panel, because automated building does not remove the need to fund trains, upgrades, and repairs.