Factorio: Space Age brings many improvements to trains and rails

destructoid.com:

Over the last week, Factorio developer Wube Software has revealed two big updates coming to the way rails work in the upcoming Factorio: Space Age expansion. According to the posts, new rails will double the number of directions that a rail track can be placed in Factorio. And, with the newest update, rail ramps and supports can create elevated rail systems as well. It may seem like a small change, but it actually really shakes things up for Factorio. Here’s a more in-depth look at the changes.

Once a player utilizes a rail ramp to elevate the rail tracks, supports can further extend the higher-elevation rail. There’s only one layer of elevation, so it’s not like you can just keep increasing how high the rail can go. Even still, this will allow you to create essentially a highway of rail systems. Also, you can literally have a rail system that operates above the level of your factory.

For the first time ever, this will also allow railways to extend across bodies of water. In the existing version of Factorio, you have to create Landfills and fill in the water. Then, players can lay rails across the land. But, in Factorio: Space Age, a special patch is drawn under the terrain. This patch is visible only where ramps or supports touch the water. Another quality-of-life change is that when using the Rail Planner, you can snap-connect rails together. This includes connecting rails on the ground with those on elevated levels.

These changes altogether will make creating efficient factories even easier in Factorio: Space Age. According to Wube Software, the research to unlock the rails is on the starter planet.

The expansion is shaping up to add quite a few new systems and features that will not only add content but change the