Troubleshooting

When a vehicle will not move, a station is refused or the money runs out.

Most problems have one of a few causes. Find yours below.

The Problems window

Colour	Means	For example
	Stuck: nothing moves or pays until it is fixed	A lost vehicle, one the game stopped, cargo no stop on the route accepts, an industry about to close
	Costing money or goodwill	A breakdown, a train held at a signal for 10 days, a vehicle that lost money last year, a station nobody has called at for 60 days, cargo piling up, a council that refuses you, an industry cutting output, a plant holding one input while it waits for another
	Worth a look	A vehicle held in a queue for 2 days, overdue a service or past its working life, a train too long for its platform, an industry short of staff, a wind farm going up

Tabs sort them into vehicles, stations, and towns and industries. The count on the top bar is red while anything is stuck.
Each line's button does the fix: Open the vehicle or industry, Buy a vehicle with that station as a stop, Show platform, or the town's Council.
Show on map turns on the Problems map layer: a pin on each problem.

A vehicle will not move

It says Lost. No road, track or water leads all the way to its next stop. Look for a gap, a missing junction or a one-way signal facing it. Mend it and the vehicle carries on by itself.
It waits at a station. Full load is ticked there and too little cargo arrives. Untick it in the vehicle's window, or see No cargo is waiting below.
A train waits at a signal or a junction. The track ahead is taken. Two trains facing each other on a single line need a passing loop: Passing loops. After about a month the waiting train turns round if the track behind it leads to one of its stops; if not, it goes on anyway, and crashes if the other one is still in the way. To turn a train round yourself, use Turn around in its window.
It is waiting in traffic. Buses and trucks queue behind each other, at stops too. Give a busy stop more tiles: they spread over them. After 3 days stuck, a bus or truck drives on through.
It waits for a berth, or circles over an airport. A dock takes one ship at a time and an airport 3 planes. Build another dock beside the first, or spread the vehicles out. An oil rig's dock is one berth for every company and can't be extended. After 15 days a ship or plane goes in anyway.
It is stopped. If you stopped it, press Start in its window. If the game stopped it, none of its stops can be reached or used: give it stops it can use.
It has broken down. An amber light blinks. It moves again within 3 days; a depot on its route keeps it serviced: Depots & servicing.

A station or depot is refused

The red note beside the mouse gives the reason. The usual ones:

The council says no. Your rating in that town is below 30. Open the town and advertise or plant trees: Town councils.
The ground is not level. Rail stations, depots and airports need flat ground. Use Raise land and Lower land first.
It points the wrong way. A station must run along the road or track. Press R to turn it.
It is in the wrong place. A road stop goes on a straight piece of road. A dock goes on a shore slope that runs straight down to open water.
Something is in the way. Bulldoze buildings and trees, or go round. Industries cannot be removed.
Not enough money. Borrow in Finances (F).

A vehicle cannot be bought

The buy window says what is missing. The usual reasons:

No depot. A bus, truck or train needs a depot joined by road or track to its first stop.
No way through. Each stop must be joined to the next by road, track or water. Buses and trucks may use town streets.
The wrong kind of stop. Trains need platforms, road vehicles a road stop, ships a dock and aircraft an airport.
No wires. An electric train needs overhead wires on every tile from the depot to each stop: Electric trains.
Airports too close. A flight needs at least 10 tiles between the two airports.
The model is not in the list. It has not been invented yet: Year by year.

No cargo is waiting

Cargo only gathers once a vehicle that carries it has the station in its orders.
The industry or the houses must lie inside the catchment. The station's window lists what it supplies: Catchment.
With a low rating most of the cargo never reaches you. Call more often, with faster and newer vehicles: Station ratings.
A rival's station with a better rating takes the larger share.
A plant only makes what it is fed: a sawmill that gets no wood has no goods.

A delivery pays nothing

The station does not accept that cargo, so it stays on board. The station's window lists what it accepts.
No stop on the route accepts the cargo. The vehicle fills up, earns nothing and cargo piles up where it loads; its window and the company overview warn you. A stop takes passengers only with enough houses or an industry that wants staff in its catchment, and freight only with an industry or a town that takes it. Extend or move the station, or add a stop that does accept it: Catchment.
The trip was very short or very slow. Pay grows with distance and falls when cargo is late: How you're paid.

The company is losing money

Open Problems (I): it lists what is going wrong, each with a fix.
In the Vehicles window (V), sell or re-route vehicles that lose money year after year.
Too many vehicles on one route wait for each other's cargo. A low average load in a vehicle's window shows it.
Short routes pay little. Aim for 30 to 60 tiles.
Every vehicle costs money to run, busy or not, and track, signals and stations cost upkeep. Sell and remove what you do not use.
Repay the loan when cash piles up: interest is 4% a year.
Balance below zero? Borrow enough to end the month above zero, then fix the cause: Loan & bankruptcy.