For what it’s worth, some of the best A-Train evangelism I’ve ever read is from @Malkael in this thread:
[ATrainHeader]
Created by the Tokyo-based Japanese development studio Artdink and celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2021, the venerable A-Train series is the studio’s longest ongoing video game franchise. Over time the series has steadily evolved over the years into a unique blend of railway management, urban development, and business simulation. The series caters to a wide variety of people from densha otaku (train fanatics) through to individuals who enjoy the city development aspects.
Be…
And here’s the intro from the All Aboard Tourism manual that explains the principles behind the series that set it apart from stuff like Transport Tycoon, Railway Empires, and so forth:
Ichizo Kobayashi 1873-1957
The founder of Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group…Considered to have been singlehandedly responsible for establishing the private railroad management model as one that promotes, integrates, and synergizes urban development and the distribution industry. By implementing his idea to combine the management of railroads with the development of real estate and the installment of recreational facilities and department stores, and by expanding railroad lines, he managed to build up a small-town train line into a preeminent railroad company.
He is well-known for saying, “Passengers create trains.” He saw a business opportunity in fulfilling the public’s demand as populations expanded in regions with railroad lines. He is known for basing his business policy around care for his customers, and anecdotes to this effect abound. He is certainly a man worth researching.
-Tom
