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I find it that it is best to do a small circular lines than interconnect at 2-3 stations. Such systems prevents huge lines and allows folk to get from one end to the other by buying plenty of tickets, so more money for me too.

In the past I tried to do interconnecting lines at one stop but it is way too complicated as queues get out of a hand very quickly.
 
I've been having great success with small metro lines: no more than 3-4 stations, with walking connections. But I have noticed some oddities. For example, due to the problems with dwell times, it's possible for the middle station to become extremely backed up with passenger while the terminals are well serviced. Basically, no matter how many trains you put, as they pull into the terminal, they wait so long that they end up filling up to capacity as people trickle in. Then they can't pickup anyone in the middle.

I guess this can be resolved by using two lines, one that short-turns, one that goes end-to-end.
 
bluescreen08 said:
I have no idea what im doing wrong. I've lost count of how many times I've restarted this scenario :(

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/577790562744449529/3476D1976AD6D2BC1F327B96842E37D1C5D272CD/
Click to expand...
All I can say is that I hope you keep restarting the scenario and trying different things. I took a look at your screenshot.
I'm always worried that I will give away too much advice. Like, if I tell people exactly where to place every thing, then people will get mad that I've taken the fun out of it. But, it looks like you're stuck, you've asked for help, and you've dilligently restarted while trying different things. So I'll see if I can give you some help... and I appologize ahead of time if its not the kind of help you're looking for.

First I'll mention that I'm at work, not home so I don't have it in front of me. But I've got SpeedKing's map from here in front of me:
http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?524307-Resources-High-Resolution-Overview-Maps
The larger version is here:
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/5176227/img/Anonymous/amsterdamm.jpg

If I recall, they give you 24K to start out with Amsterdam on Medium mode. I think this gives you enough money to build an above-ground metro to three points. If not, then you'll have to start with two and add to it.

Hit the pause button and build your first metro before hitting "play".
Build a metro stop from the Train Station in the North (just south of the river). These are above-ground metros - cheaper. Any East-West metros are better built underground I think. But those are more expensive and its easier to add those later. Build a metro stop in the center of town there in the plaza. Build a metro station to the South. I put mind in between the two factories that are just South of the Southern most canal. Its just a little two block area. This North-South metro will be the core of the infrastructure.. the backbone or fishbone. It'll make money on its own if you have ticket prices, happiness, and other things all sorted out.

Now feed it with trams. I didn't use buses. Run a tram from the airport in the Southwest to the village just east of there. Run another tram from that same village to the South end of your metro. You could make that one tram line with three stops, but I like to break them up. Now find some other things to feed your metro with. See that supermarket in the SouthEast corner? I think its a "hypermarket" I don't think its there in the begining of the scenario... if it is, try running a tram to the South metro station. Remember when you're running these tram tracks not to run them on the roads. Run them through the trees. Take that village in the SouthEast and run a tram line to the South metro station. Ok, up North above the river. Run a little bus line that covers those buildings up there and has a stop at the shore. Run a water taxi from the shore that connects the bus station to the Train Station right there along the river. It is optimal if the Metro station you placed up there is within range of the water taxi dock.
With time you can build some "wings" to the left and right with your metro. Mabye this time you make them underground metros. Make one start at the city center plaza in proximity to your first line. Have it go West until you reach the South part of the marina area. Just a short two-stop line. Now feed it with tram lines from the rail station in the Northwest corner and that cluster of houses up there. Make a "wing" from that same city center plaza to the East. maybe make it end where you see the tennis courts. Now feed it with trams.

So you would have a metro running north/south with three stops (two end points and one middle). Then you have two "wings" that go east and west to converge in the plaza in the middle. This is a "hub and spoke" metro with three lines. By the time these metro lines are ramped up... and fed with trams... you will be raking in the money. This of course assumes you have successfully balanced ticket prices, wages, repairs, etc.
I think you can do it without taking loans. You may only be able to do two metro stops at the start. I'd pick the train station in the north and the factorys in the South... that way you have connection points for feeding from trams and water taxi.

I looked at your long bus routes in your screenshot. Long routes with many stops. I'm not sure how profitable they would be. Remember, you don't have to cover the whole city right away. Selectively choose where you want to place lines... profitable ones.

Of course there are a million other ways to do it, and variations on mine... but it is one possible way to start out. I wish you luck and fun.

EDIT: I just glanced at your screenshot again. You're paying over $2,380 a month in loans. That is almost equivalent to the amount of loss you have each month. If you did not have those loans, you would almost be a balanced company. I think you can do this if you build it without taking loans (which means you may have to do it a little slower). And try the above-ground metros in the beginning - much cheaper to build. Underground track is very, very expensive.
 
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Thanks I'll see if i can't figure out what to do in the future with that info.

UPDATE: Used your advice and it works really well. I think my main problem was using a pure underground metro system which really killed my profits. Thanks a bunch :D
 
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Hey guys, sorry if this is the most retarded question asked here...I just started playing CiM.

When making a metro loop around 2 stations and making 2 lines, a la outer circle and inner circle, how do you make the two lines go in opposite directions? Whatever I do, the two lines seem to only want to use the inner track, and go in the same direction! I thought this would sort itself when I add two metro trains, but they both just try to fight for the same inner track going in the same direction!


Any help would be much appreciated - thanks again! ^^
 
can you provide a screenshot? the trains will always use the right track but can stop on either on the left or the right side of the platform at the stations depending which side you set the stop.
 
Trains (and any other vehicle) will always try to get the shortest route between 2 points. The inner circle is shorter, so both lines will use it. Add a third station and it will solve your problem:
Line 1: A-B-C-A
Line 2: A-C-B-A

If you have only 2 stations, don't make a circle line, make a straight line. In this case the trains will use one track on the way from A to B and the second track from B to A.
 
@Darkel01

I think your problem is the order you select the stops in. Metros always use "left hand drive" the same as vehicles on the road. So, if you have a chain of metro stations looking like:
A1
||
B2
||
C3
||
D4
||
E5
||
F6
||
G7
||
A1

Then one line would run A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A and the other line needs to be 1-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.
If you choose the second line to be 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 (the same order as the first) then it will use the same side of the track as it will be running backwards, and duplicating the first line.
An "outer" line should run anti-clockwise, and the "inner" run clockwise.
The only difference between metros and buses is that the metros CAN cross to the "wrong" side of the track to use the other platform. Buses have to have a stop on the right side.

While CiM is usually excellent at automatically sorting stop order when adding line extensions and new stops, it does go wrong sometimes. But it won't re-sort them when you're adding stops to a new line. So, CHECK that the stop order is listed correctly by scanning along the line and counting.

And, at some risk of over-information, here's my take on
PROFITABLE METROS:
Personally I find that metros work best connecting: (in order of business generation)
1) Train stations (and housing, if not collected by other lines)
2) Large concentrated office blocks
3) colleges and ministries
3) entertainment
4) factories and hospitals
It is imperative to have a good source of housing covered to feed the metro, either using trams/buses, or having metro stops between major destinations.
However, it seems that train stations also provide a supply of commuting workers/visitors from out of town, so they are far more useful than just "leisure".
This list comes from many different maps, seeing huge retail parks virtually ignored, a group of factories needing 1000 workers offering 10 travellers, while a bus stop outside 3 average office buildings got flooded by hundreds of passengers (San Francisco and Tokyo). And train stations always swamp any available transport.

I happily take the higher interest loan for building (because it keeps monthly repayments manageable), and always stay underground. If some time into the game, I average the monthly profit I make, and borrow until the monthly repayment equals my profit. What I'm building should generate more income and profit, so it's a safe level to borrow. If I'm profitable, and need a small boost to complete something, I'll borrow, then repay the loan in a few months. To help this, I'll borrow 50k in 10k chunks, so I can repay whenever I've got 10k, and not have to save the whole lump to repay a single loan.

Ticket prices: I aim for one or two notches below red, but will let it drift higher if profits are tight. On "hard", I have to be brutal with salaries (one or two above "unhappy") and cut maintenance to the bone (10% for stops, 30 to 50 for vehicles) but once the network is healthy these can all improve to help customer sentiment.

I usually start with a straight line, with stops closely placed leaving very little if anything outside catchment. It won't be profitable until it's four or five stops long, so borrow if need be, and extend rapidly.
BUT, failing to plan is planning to fail.... the straight initial lines are often intended to link up and form loops. I have a think about each map at the start, and get an idea of what fits where. There is usually a hit when having to rework two reversing lines into opposing circle lines (losing waiting passengers at the removed stops) but by then I'm so advanced and profitable that it's painless.
My biggest loop had 25 stops, and ran 28 trains (they can wait behind another train, just outside a station), but mostly they average about 15 stops.

Having said that, Amsterdam was one of the hardest to fit a metro into, because the map is small and the scenario tasks don't encourage it. That said, the best advantage of a metro is being able to cross the canals at will (at level 3). So, one or two traversing metro lines connecting to buses and trams on each "island" can generate big profits (customers pay each time they change mode of transport, but get free connections to same modes). And an underground metro from the railway station southwards is the only way to avoid traffic jams at the station.

In general, network profitability (and passenger count) really takes off when two or three isolated bits of network get linked together.
 
The easiest way is to build lines like this one :

Train station - something like Department store/Factory/Office centre - City centre - ... - Train station. Also add stations to high density residential areas, if they're close to your planned route. I prefer to build radial metro lines with intersection at city centre (two or more stations close to each other). You can also start and end lines close to airports, but that depends on the map, sometimes it's not worth it (e.g. small airports) Hope this helps.
 
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