The key people involved with the Train Sim World branch of Dovetail Games include executive producer Matt Peddlesden,[2] senior community manager Alex Gate,[3] community managers Jamie Ringwood and Jan Klama,[3] and associate designers Michael Alexander and Joe Burgess.

[5] Released on 16 March 2017,[6] CSX Heavy Haul consisted of one playable route: Sand Patch Grade, based in the United States.

Later in 2018, the third version, titled Train Sim World, was released on Microsoft Windows, Xbox One and PlayStation 4, featuring three routes: Great Western Express: London Paddington–Reading, Rapid Transit: Dessau Hauptbahnhof–Markkleeberg-Gaschwitz and Northeast Corridor: New Rochelle–Newark Liberty International Airport, as well as Sand Patch Grade for the Windows version only.

The fourth version, Train Sim World 2020, was released for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 in 2019, featuring four routes: Great Western Express, Long Island Rail Road (Penn Station–Hicksville, Hempstead Branch, Atlantic Terminal, Belmont), Main-Spessart Bahn (Aschaffenburg Hauptbahnhof–Gemünden (Main); by Rivet Games) and Northern Trans-Pennine (Manchester Victoria–Leeds route add-on), as well as Sand Patch Grade for Windows only.

[9] Further add-on routes included Rhein-Ruhr Osten (Wuppertal Hauptbahnhof–Hagen Hauptbahnhof), Ruhr-Sieg Nord (Hagen Hauptbahnhof–Finnentrop), Haupstrecke Rhein-Ruhr (Bochum Hauptbahnhof–Duisburg Hauptbahnhof), Tees Valley Line (Darlington–Saltburn), West Somerset Railway (Minehead–Bishops Lydeard), and Canadian National Oakville Subdivision.

The fifth version, Train Sim World 2, was announced on 9 June 2020, with an original planned release date of 6 August 2020.

There were two new routes and multiple trains planned for its release: the ICE 3M and Bombardier Talent 2 running from Köln Hauptbahnhof–Aachen Hauptbahnhof, branded as Schnellfahrstrecke Köln-Aachen, and the London Underground 1972 MK2 Stock, with the Bakerloo line.

More DLC followed: Haupstrecke München–Augsburg: LGV Méditerranée: Marseille–Avignon, Southeastern High Speed: St Pancras–Faversham, Clinchfield Railroad: Elkhorn–Dante, Hauptstrecke Hamburg–Lübeck and Scottish City Commuter (Cathcart Circle) together with Isle of Wight: Ryde Pier Head–Shanklin and Arosalinie: Chur–Arosa (both from third-party developer Rivet Games) and Union Pacific Cane Creek: Thompson–Potash (from third-party developer Skyhook Games).

The Cathcart Circle Line received an AI addition, to layer in the Avanti West Coast Class 390 Pendolino, with the release of Train Sim World 5 in 2024.

In November 2021, Dovetail released a Sherman Hill: Cheyenne to Laramie route, based in Wyoming.

It covered 47 miles (76 km) between Boston and Providence and included the Amtrak ACS-64 and the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transport Authority) F40PH-3C.

The Deluxe Edition also included the base routes, Sand Patch Grade, Schnellfahrstrecke Köln-Aachen and the Bakerloo line.

More DLC followed in 2022, such as Birmingham Cross-City, Bahnstrecke Bremen–Oldenburg, and a fictional Christmas-themed route called "The Holiday Express Runaway Elf".

The Thameslink Class 700/0 was released on Southeastern High Speed as a separate loco add-on on 11 July 2023.

It also included the Railpool DB BR 193 Vectron for an upgraded version of the Nahverkehr Dresden route add-on.

In April 2024, LIRR Commuter: New York–Long Beach, Hempstead & Hicksville was released, including the M9 EMU, which was brought into service in 2019.

For existing users, the base game is a free upgrade, which was initially available for thirty days from the release date, but was extended to early 2025.

[22] Train Sim World 5 also includes a Conductor Mode, Route Hopping, Fast Travel and an updated Live Map.

Developed in partnership with Just Add Water, the game will allow the Harlem Line route to be played on the Meta Quest.

[26] Originally, there were plans to bring Unreal Engine 4-based editing tools to Train Sim World.

[27] However, during a Train Sim World 2 Q&A livestream held on 11 June 2020, the developers announced that tools related to Unreal Engine 4 would not be released to the general public.

Community managers further confirmed this on Dovetail Games' forums, arguing that "additional considerations make a public release impossible".

[29] As part of the release of Train Sim World 4, a beta version of the Unreal Engine 4-based editor was introduced for PC players via the Epic Games Store.