1. Trains approach from the west and east and hold at the home signal.
2. Select a waiting train (click it, or click its row on the register), then assign a road — click the track, press a number key, or use the buttons.
3. A road is only cleared when the platform is free and the station throat is clear. Platforms are drawn to scale, so how long a train each one takes is something you can see rather than memorise, and each carries a MAX board at both ends.
4. Not every service calls. Freight and non-stop expresses are marked RUNS THROUGH: they never berth, and freight is too long for any platform, so it takes a through road, marked with no platform at all.
5. Score for punctual arrivals, departures and through runs. Park short trains on short platforms for an efficiency bonus.
6. Three strikes — a service cancelled through excessive delay — and your shift is over. Traffic builds every shift.