Transport Fever 3 vs 2: What Changed for TF2 Owners

Quick answer: keep TF2 open, but expect to rebuild. Transport Fever 3 has no save-game path from TF2, no Steam Workshop, no timetables, and a cargo economy where payment follows cargo complexity instead of route distance. What survives untouched is the core building grammar: path-based signalling, modular stations, depots, and train-and-wagon composition. The three things a TF2 player must unlearn are cargo destinations, long-distance-freight profit, and mod distribution.

• The roster grew, but the official count is not settled: 275+ on the store page, 300+ on the editions page and support FAQ, 270+ in the vehicle trailer.
• The economy inverted. TF2 paid for distance, TF3 pays for how deep the production chain is.
• Mods moved from the Steam Workshop to a mod.io Mod Hub, and the Workshop is not coming.

The Numbers, Side by Side

Three official sources give three vehicle counts, and all three are current. The Steam store page and the official game page say 275+ realistic vehicles. The editions page and the support FAQ say more than 300. The vehicle trailer says over 270 models. The editions page also uses a lower industry figure, over 30 onshore and offshore, where the store page says over 35. Treat 275 as the floor and 300 as the more recent developer claim. The GamesPress release is the one fixed anchor: it calls 32 industry types double the TF2 figure, putting TF2 at 16.

Cargo, Payment, and the Warehouse Habit

This is the single biggest break from TF2. In TF2, cargo was produced with a destination already attached and waited on a station platform for a matching vehicle. In TF3, cargo has no destination, stays at its point of origin until collected, and goes wherever your line takes it. Storage moved off platforms and into modular warehouses that specialise per cargo category.

The money changed with it. Asked directly about TF2 players optimising long freight hauls, Urban Games wrote that the distant cargo route method is a thing of the past, and that the complexity of the cargo delivered matters far more for payment. A cross-map run of nothing but raw ore, which paid well in TF2, is a mediocre line in TF3.

Official source: Dev Blog Episode 4: Tycoon

Pressure also runs the other way. Every cargo type carries a delivery deadline, and towns rate you on delivery alongside satisfaction, reputation, traffic, noise, and pollution. Late deliveries still pay while dragging the city rating down, a quieter punishment than a fine. The city ratings breakdown and payment mechanics guide cover both systems.

Time of Day, Timetables, and Municipal Areas

TF2 players often arrive expecting a day-night cycle and a timetable editor. One exists and the other does not. The TF3 day-night cycle is cosmetic and does not change town demand. Timetables are not in the game. Urban Games said the feature was considered during development and left out because it would add a layer of micromanagement, and that a day-night cycle is cosmetic and does not change town demand. The built-in substitute is train priority, which forces freight to yield to passenger or express services.

The replacement for TF2's town-and-industry thinking is the municipal area. The world is divided into municipal areas around each city, and bonuses, pollution, and deforestation attach to the area rather than the building. Pollution is recorded across the whole area, so you cannot build your way around a city and leave the rating untouched. On top sit exactly 10 landmarks, a count proven by an achievement asking for all 10 in one municipal area. The day-night and scheduling guide covers the shipped build.

Signals, Routes, and the Rebuilt Line Manager

Signalling is where TF2 muscle memory is safest. TF3 uses path-based signalling, exactly as the previous games did, and the official TF2 wiki describes the same model: a signal turns green if the path to the next signal or stop on that train's route is free. One-way signals, semaphore models before 1925, and light signals after behave the same. What changed is reservation depth. In TF2 a train reserved only as far as the second-next signal or the next stop, which deadlocked single-track sections entered from opposite directions. In TF3 trains reserve beyond the next stop, up to a point where they can change direction. Every old layout still works, and layouts that could not be built before are now legal. Signals and bus stops are now full-fledged constructions that adapt to bridges and tunnels.

Official source: Railway Signals - Transport Fever 2 Wiki

The Line Manager is the bigger workflow change. Lines, stations, and vehicles can be selected and edited directly in the game world, waypoints no longer need a sign built first, stop order is rearranged by dragging and dropping, and lines can be named by pattern. The vehicle purchase menu was rebuilt with a comparison mode ranking loading speed, comfort, noise, and pollution. The signal placement guide still applies to your TF2 layouts.

Official source: Dev Blog Episode 5: Highlights

Mods, Saves, and What Does Not Carry Over

This is the hardest break for veterans. There is no Steam Workshop in Transport Fever 3. The official FAQ gives the reason plainly: a Workshop would undermine the single cross-platform destination for mods, so it is not included. Everything goes through the in-game Mod Hub built on mod.io, with the same library on Steam, Epic, GOG, PlayStation, and Xbox. Manual download outside the browser remains available on PC and Mac. Your subscriptions do not transfer. Urban Games promises basic conversion of TF2 models, which is a statement about 3D models, not mods, scripts, or saved networks.

Official source: Transport Fever 3 Support and FAQ

Should You Start Over?

A TF2 owner deciding now has three paths.

The 10 percent loyalty discount applies to the Standard and Deluxe Editions, requires the same account and platform where you own TF2, and runs until 14 days after release, putting the deadline at October 13, 2026. This is a same-platform offer, not an Epic-exclusive one, so a Steam owner of TF2 gets it on Steam. What happens after that date is not yet confirmed. Migration order that works: start a temperate map, build one short line carrying a processed good rather than a raw one, then port your signalling schemes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I just load my Transport Fever 2 save into Transport Fever 3?

It is not a confirmed no; it is simply never addressed. No official source states anything about save compatibility between the two games. The only compatibility item on the known-issues page concerns PC saves shared to consoles through the Mod Hub, a different thing entirely. Keep TF2 installed and treat your networks as a TF2 archive.

Are my Steam Workshop mods going to work?

Not as they are. There is no Workshop in TF3, by official decision, because the studio wanted one cross-platform mod library. TF2 3D models have official basic conversion support, but no mod as a whole is guaranteed to run. Read the mods guide for how the Hub works.

Did they remove path signals?

No. TF3 still uses path-based signalling, the same model documented in the official TF2 wiki. What changed is how far ahead a train reserves its route: TF2 stopped at the second-next signal or the next stop, TF3 goes beyond the next stop. Your one-way signal habits are still correct.

What happened to timetables?

They are not in the game. Urban Games said the feature was considered and left out as a layer of micromanagement, and that the day-night cycle is cosmetic. You get train priorities instead. Manual mod installs stay possible on PC and Mac, and a basic timetable mod did exist for TF2, but the studio has not pointed to it as a replacement.

Are cargo trams and helicopters actually new?

Yes, both, for the first time in the series. The official vehicle trailer names buses, trucks, trains, aircraft, ships, and passenger trams as returning, and helicopters and cargo trams as debuting. Helicopters work for passenger and cargo routes. The first helicopter sits at 1950, community-observed; it may change with patches. The cargo tram guide and helicopters guide cover the rest.

Related Guides

• Which Edition to Buy - the 10 percent TF2 loyalty discount and what Deluxe adds.
• Mods Guide - how the mod.io Mod Hub replaces the Steam Workshop.
• Vehicles List - the categories behind the disputed 275 versus 300 vehicle count.
• Tycoon Mode vs Sandbox - how the reworked tycoon systems change where you start.