The M4J Network is a realistic transport network built in OpenTTD and heavily inspired by the UK transport infrastructure

From detailed station builds to meticulously planned speed limits, the M4J Network has it all. The series focuses on realism, building and populating each route as if it existed in the real world.

There are two capital cities in the M4J Network, the London inspired Gardcity (which is the hub city of the entire network), and the more European inspired Bahecity. Each has its own special features and perks, with their individual identities and flair.

Check out the gallery below to see the network highlights!

The M4J Network Map - December 2020

The entire network map as of December 2020

Gardcity St George

The first terminus of Gardcity. This station forms the southern terminus of both the Gardcity Great Northern and West Winds routes.

Gardcity St Mark

The most southerly terminus of Gardcity. Gardcity St Mark is the terminus of the Gardcity Southwestern, Gardcity Southern and Gardcity Southeastern routes.

Gardcity St Michael and St Peter

The two stations that should really be one. St Michael forms the Gardcity terminus of the Western reaches routes, whilst St Peter is the terminus of the Great Western mainline.

Gardcity St John

The most picturesque Gardcity terminus. St John is the western end of the Great Eastern routes.

Bahecity Central

The main station of the second city. Bahecity Central is heavily inspired by Amsterdam Centraal station, with split platforms and plenty of trains.

Fort Flonwood Central and Parkway

Two major stations on the South Western side of the network. Also the main hub of the Gardcity Southwestern franchise.

Gardcity Great Wintfield Airport & Wenfingfield Western

The first major interchanges out of Gardcity on the Great Western and Western Reaches (North) routes respectively.

Bathurst Street (Fort Mason)

Where the Cadingbury Direct meets the Network Central.

Current Franchises

The entire network is split up into multiple franchises. Currently only two franchises have been claimed, M4J Rail - that serves all but one route currently - and Gardcity Great Western. Franchises are not just limited to rail. If you would rather own a bus, sea or air franchise you may do so, but you can only claim one transport mode per franchise.

Learn more about franchises

M4J Rail - The principal operator of the M4J Network

M4J Rail

M4J Rail is the primary franchise of the M4J Network. Based on British Rail in the late 1980s, M4J Rail runs all unclaimed rail franchises, as well as manages the main stations across the entire map. As more franchises are awarded, M4J Rail will shrink in magnitude, however will still keep a few small operations for nostalgia’s sake!

The current M4J Rail routes include:

Gardcity Great Northern: Gardcity St George/Bartholomew Square - Warnbridge Airport and Narfingburg Springs.
Gardcity Great Eastern: Gardcity St John - Heninghall Junction, Dendstone Carneige, Nuthill City Centre and Wunston Caelestra.
Western Reaches (North) - Gardcity St Michael - Wenfingfield Western, Monningpool Falls, Plindham Junction and Sunington.
Western Reaches (South) - Gardcity St Michael - Fort Flonwood Parkway and New Puston.
Gardcity Connect.
Gardcity OverGround.
Gardcity Underground.

M4J Rail runs a large mix of rolling stock. From HSTs to TGVs and right the way down to steam operated heritage trains, there is something for everyone when you travel with M4J Rail.

Gardcity Great Western route map - February 2020

Gardcity Western Railway

Gardcity Western Railway is the operator of the Gardcity Great Western franchise and is owned by JMD Transport Group. The company operates primarily three types of rolling stock; HST’s for express routes and loco-hauled stock and networker turbos for stopping and semi-fast services. It serves destinations including Gardcity St Peter, Great Wintfield Airport, Wuworth Central, Monningpool Falls and Plindham Junction with recent extentions to Charwood and Munfingford Paragon.

The company operates a variety of services including stopping services from Gardcity St Peter to Great Wintfield Airport (every 15 minutes) and Wuworth Central (every 30 minutes). Further stopping services on branch lines including a half-hourly service from Rudworth and Dindtown with peak time extensions to Great Wintfield Airport, a half-hourly Wuworth Central to Barnford Town (every 30 minutes) and a half-hourly Plindham Junction to Taningville with an additional half-hourly service to Wuworth Central from Taningville. Another branch line we operate on is the Sledtown to Marui City line, which connects our future Charwood route with the future Munfingford Paragon route at Marui City Central, every 30 minutes. We will also operate an all stopping service from Wuworth Central to Charwood which will run hourly.

As well as this, we run semi-fast services every 30 minutes from Gardcity St Peter to Monningpool Falls, with additional half-hourly services to Gronnville West, Plindham Junction and eventually Munfingford Paragon. We also run an hourly service to Charwood via Sledtown (connecting with the line to Marui City Central), as well as run a half-hourly service from Monningpool Falls to Munfingford Paragon via Plindham Junction.

Finally, we run an express service from Gardcity St Peter to Munfingford Paragon via Wuworth Central (every 30 minutes), Plindham Junction, Sanington and Marui City Central (every 30 minutes). We run express services every 30 minutes to Monningpool Falls as well as a non-stop service from Gardcity St Peter to Gardcity Great Wintfield Airport.

Become a Franchise Holder

To become a franchise holder, you must be a supporter on Patreon. Each tier on Patreon has its own rewards, with the higher tiers giving you access to franchises. Click here to check out my Patreon page to find out more. Once you have supported the channel for 2 consecutive months, you will unlock your tier rewards and can choose either your rail, road, air or sea franchise. The franchising details are as follows:

Rail - Depending on your tier rewards, you will be able to claim a small, medium or large franchise. Each franchise is essentially a route on the network, with at least one hub station where most services will operate from. Some franchises occupy more than one main route, with a primary route and a secondary route. In the case of primary routes, the franchise holder has the majority of services and can plan accordingly. For secondary routes, the franchise holder will need to fit their services amongst that route’s primary franchise holder. Hub stations are owned and managed by M4J Transport, but may be redesigned according to the franchise holder’s plans. All other stations are owned by M4J Transport and may not be redesigned. Please bare in mind that M4J has the final say when it comes to station rebuilds, and all designs must be consistent with the rest of the M4J Network. Rail franchise holders may only run trains, they are not permitted to build any new infrastructure as this is managed by M4J Transport. Trains are fully owned and maintained by the franchise holder, with access charges paid to M4J Transport to use tracks and stations. Franchise holders are encouraged to design their own company logo and vehicle livery/liveries, which will be featured in all M4J Network promotional materials, as well as featuring in M4J Network content where available (including the game if possible).
Road - Road has a lot more freedom than rail. Franchise holders will be able to choose an area of the map in which they can run road vehicles. These regions will differ in size according to the applicable Patreon tier. Vehicles can be both freight and passenger, with all towns and industries within that area available to be serviced. Each region will have a hub town/city where franchisees will have their headquarters. It is up to the franchisee whether they focus their operations within this town or elsewhere, however they will be noted as being based within this town. Some services will be allowed to operate outside the chosen region in some cases, but the majority of operations must be within the chosen region. For bus companies, all stops will be owned by M4J Transport, with the franchise holder paying access charges to use these stops. For freight stations, all stations in towns and cities will be owned by M4J Transport, however any station built outside of a town or city will be owned entirely by the franchise holder. Road vehicle depots will be owned and maintained by M4J Transport, with access charges applied to use them. Franchise holders are encouraged to use existing road infrastructre where possible (such as motorways/highways) but may build new roadways when needed. Franchise holders are encouraged to design their own company logo and vehicle livery/liveries, which will be featured in all M4J Network promotional materials, as well as featuring in M4J Network content where available (including the game if possible).
Air - Air franchises are based out of a single airport. Franchise holders will be able to choose which airport to operate from depending on their applicable Patreon tier. Small airports will have limited capacity and operational distance, whereas larger airports have a much better capacity and a higher range. The largest airports are hub airports for the entire map, with the highest capacity and travel distance. Franchisees will be the primary operator from these airports, owning and managing the majority of services. The focus of the franchise is that the holder will be operating an airline, with a range of destinations on offer according to their Patreon tier. Higher tiered Patrons will have access to a higher number of destinations, whereas smaller tiers will be limited. All airports will be owned by M4J Transport, with access charges given to franchise holders, and any unclaimed airports will also be managed by M4J Transport, and permission must be given from any airport owner before flights to that airport can commence. Franchise holders are not permitted to alter the airport in any way, including moving the airport, adding eye candy tiles or changing the airport size. If they prefer, franchise holders can also operate cargo planes, either alongside passenger planes or instead of. Cargo franchises will need to share airports with passenger airlines, with passenger traffic taking priority, so this will need to be considered when planning routes. Franchise holders are encouraged to design their own company logo and vehicle livery/liveries, which will be featured in all M4J Network promotional materials, as well as featuring in M4J Network content where available (including the game if possible).
Sea - Water-based franchises will function like a mix of road and air. Franchisees will be able to choose a region the map, with a hub dockyard at the centre. Region sizes will differ according to Patreon tiers. Like with road, franchise holders will be allowed to operate ships/boats along any waterway within that region, as well as occasionally operating just beyond their borders if necessary. As well as this, franchise holders can run a mix of freight and passenger vehicles, also like road. Like with air, franchise holders will operate a water-based company, where they can serve other operator’s docks if needed. Hub dockyards will also serve as ship depots, and these will be owned and managed by M4J Transport with access charges given to franchise operators. Any docks built within towns/cities or connected to railway stations or freight terminals will also be owned by M4J Transport. Any other docks will be owned and managed by the franchise holder, allowing operational flexibility when connecting to external industries. Franchise holders are encouraged to design their own company logo and vehicle livery/liveries, which will be featured in all M4J Network promotional materials, as well as featuring in M4J Network content where available (including the game if possible).