Manchester Airport Commuter – Manchester to Alderley Edge Route is the latest Add-On by Dovetail Games for Train Sim World 5.
Manchester Airport Commuter delivers a well-crafted slice of northern England’s suburban rail, capturing enough of the character and bustle of the Manchester–Airport–Alderley Edge corridor to be genuinely satisfying—but also reminding us that there’s room for improvement.
First, the good: TSW5's visual fidelity in many parts is impressive. The route spans about 27 miles from Manchester Piccadilly out to Alderley Edge, with 17 stations along the way. You get both the main line via Stockport and the route via the airport on the Styal Line, which adds variety to the services, as does playing as the conductor.
Piccadilly station is modelled with a remarkable level of detail. The concourse is explorable, which is notable, especially compared to older add-ons that relied more on invisible walls or cutaway designs. Also, the inclusion of overhead aircraft (in the sky near the airport approach), signage, depot modelling (Longsight, Ardwick, etc.), multiple branches, realistic ambient traffic—all help create a lived-in network rather than simply a set of tracks. Nearing the end of its lifespan, TSW5 really brings the railsim to life...
Trains & Layers
The workhorse of the route is the Class 323 in its blue/white NTR livery. This EMU drives like a dream, and makes an excellent entry point into TSW because it's so easy to drive and has no quirks–a good thing as it has a mind-boggling 5 Scenarios, 275 services during the weekdays and 194 services in the Sunday timetable!
We had other 8 locos & units layered in from additional DLC routes. Probably most notable is the Class 390, which gets to blast along this short route, looking smart in its Aviva livery. Class 150/2, 153 and 158 also get a sizable timetable each.
The Class 350/1 from London Euston - Milton Keynes gets 40+ services, the Class 66 gets a run out in various guises, and the West Coast Mainline's Class 87 IC2 adds some classic InterCity style.
And now the bad. What doesn't quite work are TSW's usual problems, performance issues & visual glitches. LoD issues (Level of Detail), pop-up, draw distance, blurry textures, lighting artefacts, or rain inside stations. These detract from immersion, especially when otherwise the route is so polished. One thing is for sure, the Xbox Series X version is about as good as TSW5 gets.
I also found some incomplete or inconsistent features: a couple of non-functional PIS (Passenger Information Systems) at stations, lighting on trains missing (headlights or running lights not working), drivers going AWOL in screenshots and some signalling / overhead line equipment (OHLE) glitches.
Despite enjoying the route, it feels truncated: For many, myself included, the feeling is that the route ends just as you’re getting into its stride–this is especially apparent when driving a 390 service. Because the full extension to Crewe (a possibility raised during previews) isn’t realised, some feel the route is somewhat short, especially for the price. We also continue to get no trophies/achievements, which dampens replay incentive for some players.
But... Manchester Airport Commuter is undoubtedly an excellent map/route for players who enjoy UK commuter services: short hop runs, timetable variety and the satisfying complexity of stations and junctions. If you’re after scenic views, mountains or long express runs, this won’t replace that, but it’s not trying to. The route gets high marks for authenticity, detail and atmosphere; some loss of points for polish and completeness. It has the potential to be among the stronger commuter-style DLCs for TSW5, especially if the developers address the glitches and expand or refine some of the rough edges.
Many thanks to Dovetail Games and Indigo Pearl.