Other Transportation Methods

Discover how to build efficient transportation networks in SimCity 2000 using only subways or rail, avoiding roads entirely. Learn optimal station placement and patterns.

It is possible to build your SimCity 2000 city without a single tile of road. While expensive, this method can create a unique aesthetic. The key is understanding how zones develop around stations to lay them out efficiently, minimizing the number of stations and empty plots.

Important Note: Implementing these transportation systems is very expensive.

The following diagrams illustrate station placement and zoning patterns:

Subway Station

Diagram of a subway station surrounded by developable land (D):

      D
    D D D
  D D D D D
D D D S D D D
  D D D D D
    D D D
      D

Subway station pattern for efficient zoning:

S     D     S     D     S
    D   D       D   D
  D       D   D       D
D     S     D     S     D
  D       D   D       D
    D   D       D   D
S     D     S     D     S

This pattern, despite some overlap, is the only consistent method to ensure no empty spaces and is quite space-efficient. Considering suggestions for a subway-only system might make it lucrative.

A detailed subway-only pattern, provided by Dan, allows for very large, seamless expanses of zoned land without overlap or emptiness. 'S' denotes a subway station, '1' denotes zoned land, and ' ' also denotes zoned land.

S 1 1 1   1 1 1 1 1       1 1 1           1       S       1           1 1 1
1 1 1   1 1 1 S 1 1 1   1 1 1 1 1       1 1 1           1       S       1
1 1       1 1 1 1 1   1 1 1 S 1 1 1   1 1 1 1 1       1 1 1           1       S
1           1 1 1       1 1 1 1 1   1 1 1 S 1 1 1   1 1 1 1 1       1 1 1
      S       1           1 1 1       1 1 1 1 1   1 1 1 S 1 1 1   1 1 1 1 1
1           1       S       1           1 1 1       1 1 1 1 1   1 1 1 S 1 1 1
1 1       1 1 1           1       S       1           1 1 1       1 1 1 1 1   1
1 1 1   1 1 1 1 1       1 1 1           1       S       1           1 1 1
1 1   1 1 1 S 1 1 1   1 1 1 1 1       1 1 1           1       S       1
1       1 1 1 1 1   1 1 1 S 1 1 1   1 1 1 1 1       1 1 1           1       S
          1 1 1       1 1 1 1 1   1 1 1 S 1 1 1   1 1 1 1 1       1 1 1
    S       1           1 1 1       1 1 1 1 1   1 1 1 S 1 1 1   1 1 1 1 1
          1       S       1           1 1 1       1 1 1 1 1   1 1 1 S 1 1 1   1
1       1 1 1           1       S       1           1 1 1       1 1 1 1 1   1 1
1 1   1 1 1 1 1       1 1 1           1       S       1           1 1 1       1

While this pattern allows for vast, uninterrupted zoned areas, placing public structures between subway stations can be challenging; it may be best to skip a station when needed.

Rail Station

Diagram of a rail station surrounded by developable land (D):

      D D
    D D D D
  D D D D D D
D D D S S D D D
D D D S S D D D
  D D D D D D
    D D D D
      D D

Rail station pattern:

S     D D     S S     D D     S
      D D             D D
    D     D         D     D
R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
D     S S     D D     S S     D
D     S S     D D     S S     D
  D         D     D         D
    D     D         D     D
R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
S     D D     S S     D D     S

The primary drawback of a rail-dependent city is the significant land required for the 2x2 stations and their associated tracks. Consequently, there are no practical advantages to choosing a rail-dependent city over other methods.