Via Libera: Italian Train Driver
Drive a modern regional electric train from a first-person cab on the Florence–Empoli–Pisa line. Italian signalling and train protection, dispatcher orders by radio, a real timetable, weather and line emergencies. An Early Access simulation.
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Overview
Summary
Drive a modern regional electric train from a first-person cab on the Florence–Empoli–Pisa line. Italian signalling and train protection, dispatcher orders by radio, a real timetable, weather and line emergencies. An Early Access simulation.
Description
About This Game
Via Libera puts you in the driver's seat of a modern regional electric train on the Florence–Empoli–Pisa line in Tuscany, about 80 km of railway driven from a first-person 3D cab. Prepare the train from cold, read the signals, obey the train protection system, follow the dispatcher's orders and bring the service in on time. It is a careful simulation of the job, made by a very small team with AI assistance. The visuals are functional rather than photoreal, and the procedures are a simulation, not an official training tool.
What is in the game today
- The line: Florence–Empoli–Pisa with two route variants, both directions, 92 timetable services across the day and 13 stations on the stopping services.
- Driving: deterministic physics with traction, air and electric brakes and wheel-rail adhesion, a cold-start cab preparation and the vigilance device.
- Italian signalling: lineside signals with the on-board train protection system (SCMT), temporary speed restrictions and other trains running to the timetable.
- The dispatcher (DCO): radio calls with dictated orders and read-backs.
- Weather and time: rain, fog, snow, frost, leaf fall and heat; day and night; seasons with real-date weather.
- Sound: a fully synthesised soundscape with cab alerts and captions. Announcements are text, chime and captions; there is no voice-over.
- Line events: ten kinds, handled by procedure, from people or animals near the track and a fallen tree to a failed level crossing, power loss, a passenger alarm, a door fault, a medical emergency and a security alert.
- Scoring: safety, punctuality, comfort, stops and energy, with medals and a reference driver to compare your energy use.
- Career: four ranks earned with XP and exams (three theory quizzes generated from the simulation's own rules, three practical exam services), an unlock ladder and an "unlock everything" option.
- Scenarios: eight, including four training lessons, plus a weekly challenge with a local board and an online Steam leaderboard (top ten and friends).
- Steam achievements: fourteen, from your first service to a whole MWh saved.
- Help: guided mode with step-by-step prompts for beginners and an advanced driver-advisory line for experts.
- Trains: a 4-car and a 5-car train. kWh, euro and CO2 saved are shown as indicative values.
What we plan during Early Access
- Steam Cloud saves (being tested now).
- Balancing, fixes and performance work guided by player reports.
- More polish on visuals, sound and the cab.
