Stepford Connect

Logo (Dark)
Logo (Light)
Former Logo
Headquarters

Stepford Connect's rolling stock

Operator Information
Operation Start	Operator Code
25 November 2017	CN, CT

Minimum Price	Maximum Price
Free	3000 Points +200 experience

Operations
Trains	Stations Called At
19 current trains 2 former trains	46

Routes	Depots
34	11 depots 5 sidings

Map

The operator map as of V1.9

Stepford Connect operates rail services to various districts around Stepford County, such as Benton, Leighton, Morganstown, Whitefield, Berrily, Stepford Airport, Llyn-by-the-Sea and Willowfield. A full journey on the main line, which runs from Willowfield to Llyn-by-the-Sea takes about 45 minutes and is drivable on the Class 68 and Class 444 only.

The operator is classified as commuter rail as the intent of the services is to deliver passengers to and from major centres, indicated by the current routes, rather than being a link for intermediate stations in between some large areas like regional rail. The trains on this route reach a maximum speed of 110 miles per hour, with the average being 100mph.

As part of a renewed franchise from 1 May 2020, this operator is now branded as Stepford Connect and bears a bright blue colour scheme, courtesy of rail management system Transport For Stepford. Prior to the renewal, the brand was simply Connect.

History

2017

Services on the route commenced on 25th November 2017, exclusively using Class 700 units, from Stepford Town to Port Benton. Services to Stepford Airport Central began next, providing a direct link between the city and the then under-construction airport.
Coxly Depot was constructed to alleviate the overcrowded Benton Depot, alongside the introduction of Class 333 units for more frequent service. Class 321 units were introduced shortly after on 29th November to run new services to Winstree. In December, Bodin, Benton Bridge, Stepford Airport Parkway and Stepford Airport Central were renovated to allow for more capacity, with Benton being completely rebuilt.
4th December: the Connect franchise was renewed to include the Waterline route sub-franchise. Class 357 and Class 387 units were also introduced, with Class 350 units following on 6th December.
On 11th December, some Class 700 units were painted into a special livery to celebrate Christmas, and Class 185 units were introduced on 13th December.
On 18th December, all Class 387 units were taken out of service to be repainted into the WaterLine livery, and were replaced by Class 377 units.
On 25 December, Class 720 units were introduced.

2018

1st January: Class 170 units were introduced.
On 9th January, Benton was rebuilt once more to allow more trains to enter and increase capacity.
21st April: all Class 700 units were replaced by Class 707 units, Winstree and Winstree Depot were demolished and rebuilt as Leighton Stepford Road and Leighton Depot. Rocket Parade station was constructed in-between Water Newton and Leighton Stepford Road, and services to Leighton City commenced. St Helens Bridge was rebuilt and became a terminus for trains from Leighton City.
10th May: Class 380/0 and 380/1 units were introduced.
On 15th July, all Class 321 units were painted into a revised livery.
On 4th August, Class 365 units were proposed to be introduced.
31st December: Services to Berrily, Morganstown, Edgemead and Stepford Victoria commenced, and Class 68 locomotives hauling Mark 3 coaches were introduced. The entrance leading to Platforms 11 through 15 at Stepford Central was also opened.

2019

28th April: services to Stepford United Football Club and Whitefield commenced.
On 6th May, Class 331/0 and 331/1 units were introduced.
On 14th May, Class 158 units entered service, being the first with Next Generation doors and interiors on the fleet.
On 29th May, all Class 185 units were upgraded with the same tech from the Class 158 units, and on 8th June, all Class 377 units were upgraded as well.

On 5th July: all Class 350 and Class 357 units were upgraded.
On 9th July, Class 458/5 units were introduced, already equipped with Next Generation doors and interiors.
On 29th July, all Class 707 units were upgraded.
On 7th August, all Class 68 and Mark 3 units were upgraded.
On 14th August, Class 458/0 units were introduced, already equipped with Next Generation doors and interiors.
On 31st August, all Class 170 units were upgraded.
On 17th December, services to Westwyvern and Llyn-by-the-Sea commenced.

2020

22nd February: All Class 321, Class 331, Class 465, and Class 720 units were upgraded, and Faymere Green TMD was built between Faymere and Westercoast. The platforms at Stepford Central, Stepford High Street, and Benton received new decor. The entrance to Whitefield was rebuilt, and all platforms received new decor, with platform three being extended.
4th March: All Class 707 units were upgraded with Next Generation V2 doors and interiors.
On 11th March, all Class 333 units were upgraded with the same tech from the Class 707 units.
On 18 March, Stepford Central was rebuilt to increase capacity and discard aging infrastructure.
1st May: The Connect franchise was renewed to no longer include Waterline, and was passed onto Transport For Stepford. All Class 380/0 and 380/1 units were upgraded with Next Generation V2 doors and interiors, and became the first trains to bear the new branding introduced with the franchise renewal.
On 2nd May, plans were revealed to retrofit all Class 170, Class 331, Class 350, Class 357, Class 377 and Class 465 units with the new branding.
25th May: Plans were revealed to upgrade Coxly station.
On 30th May, plans were revealed to upgrade Stepford Victoria station.
On 2nd June, plans were revealed to retrofit the Stepford Connect Headquarters with new branding.
6th June: Plans were revealed to upgrade all Class 720 units with Next Generation V2 doors and interiors and new branding.
On 16th June, plans were revealed to introduce Class 730/1 units and new signalling equipment.
On 19th June, plans were revealed to retrofit all Class 158 and Class 185 units with new branding.
On 22nd June, plans were revealed to commence services to Beechley and Willowfield, as well as the retrofitting of all Class 331/1 units in a Pride variant of the new livery.
22nd June: All aforementioned changes and services were set in motion that same day, alongside the retrofitting of all Class 321, Class 333, Class 458 and Class 707 units with new seating and a new livery. Many Connect stations were refurbished whether an interior upgrade or a full refit. They include Stepford Central, City Hospital, Financial Quarter, Stepford Victoria, Stepford High Street and Stepford UFC. All the stations west of Stepford High Street received a new station sign and Class 730 was added to the fleet. Services to Beechley and Willowfield also commenced, with the City Hospital area being remodelled to introduce the "Beechley Triangle," which allows trains from Stepford Victoria to head north to Beechley and Willowfield. R037 and R038 were also added.
14th August: Plans were revealed to remodel all Class 377 units to the mesh models. The Class 387 was also featured in the sneak peek.
27th September: Plans were revealed to open a previously abandoned station, Upper Staploe, to the public.
7th October: A sneak peek of an upgrade to Benton was revealed.
29th October: Updated stations and scenery along Benton to Leighton Stepford Road and the Morganstown Branch. Upper Staploe was also added into the network. The remodelled Class 377 was also introduced.

2021

1st January: The Class 68 gets a new livery, most of the trains (except the Class 68s' Mark 3 coaches) get scrolling PISes, with the Class 331 receiving full-colour displays and the Class 720, 730 and 707 receiving monochrome displays, the Class 333 receives a new door opening sound and the Class 357, Class 377 and Class 458 get a new horn.
19th February: R040 is added.
28th March: Plans were revealed to remodel all Class 357 units to the mesh models.
2nd April: The remodelled Class 357 is introduced.
3rd July: Plans were revealed for the remodelling of the Class 333 units to the mesh models.
4th July: Plans were revealed for the remodelling of the Class 170 units to the mesh models.
7th July: The mesh Class 170 and 333 units are introduced, along with the Class 168 being introduced on services.
11th October: Plans were revealed for the remodelling of the Class 730 units to the mesh models.
14th November: Plans were revealed for the remodelling of the Class 720 units to the mesh models.
4th December: Plans were revealed for the introduction of a meshed Class 444 unit models.
5th December: The mesh Class 720 and 730 units are introduced, along with the Class 444 being introduced on services. Leighton West was also added into the network. Further updates to stations and scenery around the area from Rocket Parade to Leighton City, Westercoast and Millcastle Racecourse, as well as Port Benton, Elsemere Junction and the Whitefield Branch. Financial Quarter and Stepford East are given minor upgrades. Berrily is given step-free access from the concourse. The operator's stopping pattern is also changed, with some routes being given 1XXX headcode.
18th December: Sound upgrades are made for the Class 185, 350, 360, 380, 444, 707, 720 and 730

2022

19 February: The mesh Class 380 was revealed.
25 February: The mesh Class 707 was revealed to the public.
26 February: The brand-new Class 717 was revealed.
27 February: Version 1.8.2 has been released. This update included the mesh update of the Class 185, Class 707 and the introduction of the Class 717 and the new free Route, R045. Therefore, R009 was made to cost 300 points instead of being free. Later that same day, Version 1.8.3 released, featuring the anticipated Class 380 upgrade.
23 April: The mesh Class 458/5 was revealed to the public.
24 April: A sneak peek of the NGv3 upgrade to both variants of the Class 458 and the addition of a footbridge at Westercoast was released.
25 April: Version 1.8.4 was released, upgrading the Class 458 to NGv3 and the addition of a footbridge and a new spawn at Westercoast.

Rolling Stock

Current

Class Number	Top Speed (mph)	Price (Points)	Carriages	Manufacturer	Train Family	Date Put Into Service	Date converted to NG	Routes Operated On
Diesel multiple-units								R001 R002 R003 R004 R005 R006 R007 R008 R009 R020 R021 R022 R023 R024 R025 R027 R028 R029 R030 R031 R032 R033 R034 R035 R037 R038 R039 R040 R045
Class 158	90	1500	2 (/9) 3 (/0)	BREL	Express Sprinter	14th May 2019
Class 158	90
Class 168	100	1500	4	Adtranz and Bombardier	Turbostar	7th July 2021
Class 170		1500	3	Adtranz and Bombardier	Turbostar	1st January 2018	31st August 2019
Class 170
Class 185		1500	3	Siemens	Desiro	13th December 2017	29th May 2019
Class 185
Electric multiple-units
Class 321	100	1500	4	BREL	Mark 3	29th November 2017	22nd February 2020
Class 331		1500	3 (/0) 4 (/1)	CAF	Civity	6th May 2019	22nd February 2020
Class 331
Class 333		1500	4	Siemens and CAF	N/A	30th November 2017	11th March 2020
Class 350	110	1500	4	Siemens	Desiro	6th December 2017	5th July 2019
Class 350	110
Class 357	100	Free	4	Adtranz and Bombardier	Electrostar	4th December 2017	5th July 2019
Class 357
Class 377		1500	5	Bombardier	Electrostar	18th December 2017	8th June 2019
Class 377
Class 380		1500	3 (/0) 4 (/1)	Siemens	Desiro	11th May 2018	1st May 2020
Class 380
Class 444		2500	5	Siemens	Desiro	5th December 2021		25 routes ^{[Note 1]}
Class 458/0		Unlocks with /5	4	Alstom	Juniper	29th July 2019		R001 R002 R003 R004 R005 R006 R007 R008 R009 R020 R021 R022 R023 R024 R025 R027 R028 R029 R030 R031 R032 R033 R034 R035 R037 R038 R039 R040 R045
Class 458/0
Class 458/5	75	1500	5	Alstom	Juniper	14th August 2019
Class 458/5
Class 465		1500	4	BREL, ABB and Metro-Cammell	Networker	30th November 2017	22nd February 2020
Class 465
Class 707	100	300	5	Siemens	Desiro City	21st April 2018	20th July 2019
Class 707
Class 717	85	500	6	Siemens	Desiro City	27th February 2022
Class 717
Class 720	100	1500	5	Bombardier	Aventra	29th January 2018	22nd February 2020
Class 720
Class 730/1	110	1500	5	Bombardier and Alstom	Aventra	23rd June 2020
Locomotive hauled stock								25 routes^{[Note 1]}
Class 68	100	3000 ^{[Note 2]}	3^{[Note 3]}	Vossloh and Stadler	UKLight	31st December 2018	8th August 2019
Class 68	100
Mark 3A	N/A	Included with Class 68	N/A	BREL	Mark 3	31st December 2018
Mark 3A	N/A

Former

Class Number	Image	Top Speed (mph)	Price	Carriages	Manufacturer	Train Family	Date Put Into Service	Date Withdrawn From Service	Routes Operated On	Fate
Electric multiple-units
Class 700		100	Free	6	Siemens	Desiro City	25th November 2017	21st April 2018	All routes (at that time)	Withdrawn and replaced by Class 707
Class 700		100								Withdrawn and replaced by Class 707
Class 387	'	110	45 Robux	4	Bombardier	Electrostar	4th December 2017	18th December 2017	All routes (at that time)	Transferred to Waterline on the 21st December 2017
Class 387	'	110								Transferred to Waterline on the 21st December 2017

Future

None at the moment.

Proposed

Class Number	Image	Top Speed (mph)	Carriages	Manufacturer	Train Family
Class 365		100	4	ABB	Networker
Class 365

Train Models


Train Models	NGv1	NGv2 (CSG Model)	NGv3 (Mesh Model)
Percentage	32% of fleet	0% of fleet	68% of fleet
Number	6	0	13

*Main train and variants are considered one train.