Merscom tracks down new Trainz Sim

Cyberconductors and electronic engineers, it's time to pull the steam whistle and get ready to pick up another batch of riders. Merscom has announced that it will publish Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006 for North American PCs. The game is currently in the station at Auran Games studios, and it will hit the tracks near the end of the year.

"We are very excited to publish Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006, as it fills a huge void in the US market," said Lloyd Melnick, director of Merscom. "Ever since Microsoft discontinued its railroad simulator, hundreds of thousands of fans have been clamoring for a train simulator using great technology."

The game was previously dubbed "Engineers Edition," an expansion of an earlier version of the Trainz Railroad Simulator series, but it will now be released as a stand-alone Trainz game, with no need for a previous version to cart it around.

The 2006 version will feature more than 7,500 scenery objects and more than 150 different types of trains. Eager engineers will be able to conduct a variety of tasks, including high-speed passenger services with newer, sleeker trains and long freight hauls with the old horses of the tracks.

The game is awaiting pricing and rating information. For more on the game, steam over to Auran's Web site.