Lay the network
Read the landscape, connect cities and industries, and commit capital to routes that can carry the company for decades.
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A railway strategy game
Build networks.
Float companies.
Race the century.
Lay track across a changing industrial world, move people and freight, and turn a fledgling railway into the defining company of its age.
In active development
The railway is only half the game
Steel on the ground.
Capital in motion.
Rail Capital combines a railway board game with a living (lightweight!) economic simulation.
Every line is a business decision. Connect a coal mine to hungry industry. Build passenger services between growing cities. Invest, issue shares, retain profit or pay dividends, while rival presidents pursue their own empires across the same map.
At the controls
One railway.
Four disciplines.
Plan like an engineer, trade like a financier and keep one eye on the next generation of trains.
Run the company
Float shares, manage treasury, expand operations and decide whether profits belong in the railway or in shareholders’ hands.
Move the market
Carry passengers, coal, oil, steel, goods and products through a supply-and-demand economy shaped by every connection.
Race the century
Buy and maintain evolving trains, pursue contracts, bid for rare prototypes and adapt as yesterday’s fleet becomes obsolete.
From the development build
Read the map.
Write its history.
Open any image at full size to inspect the network.
Invest in the landscape
Fund the works.
Share in its future.
New mines, oil works, steel works and factories begin with a prospectus. Commit company capital before subscriptions close and help decide which industries take root around your railway.
- SubscribeChoose how much company capital to contribute
- OpenThe proposal proceeds when it reaches its minimum funding
- ReturnSuccessful investors receive their share of the site's profits
A century of hard choices
Your fleet never
stands still.
Early trains are cheap and limited. New generations arrive faster, larger and more capable-but every purchase ties up capital, adds maintenance and brings the old fleet closer to obsolescence.
- Fleet Passenger, freight and mixed consists
- Economy Shares, dividends, loans and contracts
- World Cities, factories and dynamic cargo markets
- Competition Solo AI and network multiplayer
More than a single timetable
Every railway
leaves a record.
Survey an open island, take on a branching campaign, challenge friends directly, or face the same railway puzzle as every other player that day.
01 Open play
Survey the island.
Build your own game.
Sandbox opens the whole railway territory and lets you decide what kind of contest belongs on it. Generate a world from a seed or load a saved map, then tune the opposition and company start before the first rail is laid.
- WorldRandom seed or saved map
- RivalsAI count, difficulty and personality
- CompaniesAuction or traditional founding
- AssistanceOptional strategic advisor
+ Map workshop
Make the map.
Then play it.
Open a pre-defined world or shape one of your own in the built-in editor. Saved maps return to the Sandbox setup as reusable railway territories.
- PaintTerrain, coasts and playable territory
- PlaceTowns, ports and economic roles
- DefinePopulation, supply, demand and waterways
- SaveLoad the finished map into open play
02 Campaign
The Iron Road
Choose a path through a ten-stage railway campaign. Win contests, survive mini-bosses, visit exchanges and carry your growing company legacy towards the final route.
- 10
- campaign stages
- Branch
- between generated routes
- Bank
- Rail Fund and legacy rewards
03 Scenario challenges
Fixed rules.
Different problems.
Curated scenarios arrive with a pre-set difficulty and a clear victory condition. Read the brief, work within its limits and build the railway the challenge demands.
Difficulty
I - V
- Highest net worth at the end
- Reach a net-worth target
- Raise a company share price
- Deliver cargo by a deadline
04 Network multiplayer
Share the map.
Contest the century.
Host a game over LAN or direct IP and configure up to eight seats with any mix of remote players, AI rivals and closed positions.
- Host-controlled lobby and start
- Custom maps and victory conditions
- Net worth, share price or cargo objectives
05 Game of the Day
One seed.
One attempt.
Every player receives the same daily map, rules and three AI opponents. Read the conditions, make your run count and finish with the highest net worth.
Today's challengeSame railway.
Different decisions.
Different decisions.
06 High scores
Make the ledger.
Results are ranked by mode and scenario, with assisted and unassisted runs kept on separate boards.
BoardRecords
Iron RoadCampaign score
Game of the DayDaily ranking
MultiplayerMatch result
Free playable demo
Lay your first rail.
Run your first company.
Take the controls with a curated introduction to Rail Capital. Learn construction, services, shares and industry, then carry your experience into the wider game.
Available nowDemo
- Windows
- Linux
- macOS
Rail Capital on Steam
The next departure
starts with a wishlist.
Rail Capital now has an official Steam page. Add it to your wishlist to follow its journey towards release and help more railway strategists discover the game.
CapitalWishlist now ↗
Private development builds
Take a seat
in the boardroom.
Playtesters get access to the latest build archive and release notes. Downloads use a shared tester login while Rail Capital is in development.
Dispatches from development
Follow the line
as it grows.
Read detailed progress reports in the development diary, then join Discord for new-build announcements, strategy talk and direct playtest feedback.
Player support
Hit a signal?
We’ll get you moving.
For technical problems, installation help, multiplayer questions or guidance with the game, visit the dedicated Support topic in the Rail Capital Discord.
Visit player support- 01Join the Discord
- 02Open Support
- 03Create a post