Track and Stations

Building track in 18 India — up to four yellow tiles in one line or one upgrade, all colours from the start, gauge changes, terrain and river costs — and placing stations.

Laying yellow track

A Company may lay up to four yellow tiles in its turn:

• it must be able to trace a route from one of its stations to each new tile and use some of the new track;
• the tiles form one continuous line, extended in one direction, starting from a City with its station; it may run through pre-printed track, its own stations or cities with a free circle, but stops at a City full of other Companies’ stations;
• never off the board, on a gray hex, or into a gray hex’s blank side (the spur at C18 lets track in D17 point off-board);
• the yellow-and-gray ferry tiles in J37 count as yellow, cannot be upgraded, and must connect K38 (Sri Lanka) to J35, I36 or I38.

Upgrading

Instead of yellow track, upgrade one tile. All colours are available from the start, but each upgrade follows yellow → green → brown → gray. The new tile keeps every City, Town and piece of existing track, and the Company must reach some of its new track (a City may be upgraded even if not). A yellow Town may become a green single-station City (special tiles reserved for this). Hills and mountains cost nothing when upgrading. The full progression is in Cards & Components.

Gauge changes

Dashed red lines mark a change of gauge. Until Phase IV, whenever track completes a crossing of such a line, put a gauge change marker on the junction. To a normal train it is a ₹0 stop; express trains ignore it; no route may start or end on it. From Phase IV no more markers are placed, and a Company may spend its track action removing one marker it can reach.

Terrain costs

Paid to the bank from the treasury when laying yellow track (no money, no tile):

Stations

One station per Operating Round, in a city circle the Company can reach by an unblocked path. Home station free (placed when floating), the next ₹40, later ones ₹100. Home cities of Companies in the game are reserved (Bombay and Tirhoot: one circle of their hex must stay free for them). A Company may have only one station per hex.

Stations give right of way: a City whose circles are all filled blocks other Companies’ trains from running through it, though anyone may start or end there. A Company’s routes and track always start from its stations.