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A railroad is a special type of tile improvement in Civilization VI: Gathering Storm. It is the ultimate "road" in the game - iron tracks on which fast trains move with speed impossible for even the most modern road network. Railroads accelerate the Movement Movement of land units, allowing them to cross rough terrain and features such as Woods and Rivers easily. All units can move between tiles with railroads at the cost of only 0.25 Movement Movement, and Trade Route Trade Routes passing through railroads receive a bonus of 0.375 Gold Gold per tile with a railroad.

Unlike roads, however, railroads are not laid automatically by Traders - rather, they must be laid manually by Military Engineers. Placing a railroad on a tile doesn't consume a build charge, but it does consume 1 Iron Iron and 1 Coal Coal.

Strategy[]

Upgrading to railroads should be your ultimate infrastructural goal come the Modern Era. It takes just a single Military Engineer to accomplish this (although it will be a rather slow process with only one), and all you need is a steady supply of Iron Iron and Coal Coal. Your land units will then move with incredible speed, you will be able to react almost instantly to threats on opposite sides of your empire, and your trading will get a boost.

The only downside is that you'll have to use Coal Coal, which will worsen your CO2 footprint. However, you don't actually need to upgrade every single tile of road to a railroad - just the strategic ways along which you cross your landmass. This way, you'll achieve the desired effect without spending an excessive amount of time and resources.

Additionally, it is wise to have railroads lead through or right next to Encampments, which exercise zone of control, so that enemies' military units and rebels recruited by their Spies cannot make use of the increased mobility.

Players receive +2 Era Score for connecting two of their cities with railroads (or +3 if they are the first to do so).

Railroads, like roads, cannot be removed by a Builder or a Military Engineer.

Related achievements[]

An Engineer's Dream
An Engineer's Dream
Have a Canal, Dam, Aqueduct, Railroad, Golden Gate Bridge, and Mountain Tunnel in a city.
All of the above are related to the discipline of civil engineering, with the Military Engineer being able to contribute to all except the Golden Gate Bridge.

See also[]

Civilization VI Improvements [edit]
Standard AirstripCampFarmFishing BoatsFortGeothermal Plant Lumber MillMineMissile SiloMountain Tunnel National ParkOffshore Oil RigOffshore Wind Farm Oil WellPasturePlantationQuarryRailroad Seaside ResortSeastead Ski Resort Solar Farm Wind Farm
Unique ChâteauChemamull Feitoria1Golf Course Great WallHacienda1Ice Hockey Rink Kampung1KurganMekewap MissionNubian Pyramid1Open-Air Museum Outback Station1 Pairidaeza1Polder Qhapaq Ñan Rock-Hewn Church1Roman FortSphinxStepwellTerrace Farm Ziggurat
City-state Alcázar1Batey1Cahokia Mounds Colossal HeadsMahavihara1Moai Monastery1Nazca Line Trading Dome1
Governor City Park Fishery
Modes only Barricade4Corporation3Industry3Modernized Trap4Reinforced Barricade4Trap4Vampire Castle2
1 Requires DLC2 Secret Societies mode only • 3 Monopolies and Corporations mode only • 4 Zombie Defense mode only
Added in the Rise and Fall expansion pack.
Added in the Gathering Storm expansion pack.