For the subway car in Grand Theft Auto IV, see Subway Car. For the other trains in the Grand Theft Auto series, see Train.
The Train is a rail-based transportation vehicle in Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto 2, Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.
Description[]
The purpose of the train is largely as an alternate means of travelling from one point of the city to another, avoiding the need to travel by car and navigate streets and traffic to reach the same location. The convenience of riding trains is offset by their sporadic coverage of the city, which often features only a handful of railway stations along each line.
Grand Theft Auto[]
In Grand Theft Auto, Trains are designed as passenger-based locomotives presumably based on the EMD F40PH, which allow players and NPCs to move between various underground and elevated stations scattered all over the city. Trains are only available in Liberty City and Vice City, as San Andreas is presumed to have originally been intended by developers to feature Trams instead; the feature was dropped in the final version of the game. Trains in Liberty City are blue, while trains in Vice City are red.
The trains consist of a single locomotive pulling three passenger cars; players simply enter or exit a passenger coach the same way they do with any road vehicle, but can only do so when the Train has come to a stop at the station. From this point on, players may continuously ride the train until they alight at a station.
Trains are not included in the PlayStation version of the game.
Grand Theft Auto 2[]
For Grand Theft Auto 2, Trains are cosmetically redesigned in the tone of the retro-futuristic setting of the game. Trains are also available in each district of Anywhere City.
The variety of train cars was expanded, consisting of passenger cars, flatcars and Boxcars. Trains may come with different combinations of cars, either serving to carry passengers or both passengers and freight, to which point the locomotive will appear with the aforementioned boxcar, flatcar, or both. The player can only access a Train via any of its passenger coaches for train rides (as well as NPCS), so the freight-based cars are of little use. Trains in Grand Theft Auto 2 also travel much faster, and adopt at-grade, elevated or underground lines to travel around the city. Their frequency of arrivals at station is also better than in Grand Theft Auto.
The presence of Trains was removed from the PlayStation port of the game, probably due to hardware limitations.
Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories[]
In Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Trains resemble classic subway cars used in the subway system of New York City, particularly the R62/R62A in terms of size and doors (the cars have three doors on both sides), and the R68/R68A in terms of body design and light configuration.
In both games, the Train has a long chassis with a curved base, the corresponding couplers on both ends and numerous wheels within a set of bogies, along with access doors on either side and square lights on both ends (consisting of upper red lights and lower white lights). They also have separated cabin compartments on each end (though no actual driver is seen in the main car). Trains also spawn in a dark grey color, and consist of two to three cars.
The train can be used to travel between three stops on Portland, on the Portland El line:
The train is also used on the Subway line running between four stops across Liberty City, with one in Portland, two in Staunton Island and one in Shoreside Vale:
- Portland LCS, on the Chinatown/Red Light District border.
- Rockford LCS, at the Liberty Campus.
- Shoreside Terminal LCS, at Francis International Airport.
- Staunton South LCS, in Bedford Point.
Behaviour[]
2D Universe[]
As stated above, the Train serves as an alternative to a road vehicle, where players can enter one of the passenger coaches when the train is at a station.
A minor quirk of Trains in the PC version of Grand Theft Auto is the ability to hijack them. In order to do this, players must first be close to a passenger coach of the Train. By simultaneously pressing the Ctrl and Enter keys, the player gains control of the locomotive, allowing them to control the speed of the train, as well as its direction along the tracks (forwards or backwards). However, the player must be wary of another Train along the track, as Trains are very sensitive to crashes; a simple collision can destroy both trains in an explosion, killing the player inside. Likewise, Trains can be damaged if they collide with any vehicle along the line, or sustain damage from gunfire, ultimately leading to them blowing up.
In Grand Theft Auto 2, Trains retain many of the core characteristics from their previous renditions in the first Grand Theft Auto; however, players can no longer hijack the locomotives, although they remain equally destructible.
3D Universe[]
The train remains largely identical to previous iterations, being unable to be hijacked. However, they are immune to all sources of damage, and can simply push away any vehicle with ease, including Rhinos.
Technically being a vehicle, the train has its own handling line.
3D Universe Overview[]
| Acceleration (0-60 mph in Seconds) |
Top Speed (mph / kmh) |
Gears | Engine | Drivetrain (FWD / RWD / AWD) |
Mass (kg / lbs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | 87 / 140 (GTA III)
68 / 110 (GTA Liberty City Stories) |
5 (GTA III)
4 (GTA Liberty City Stories) |
Diesel | AWD (GTA III)
RWD (GTA Liberty City Stories) |
25500 / 56218 (GTA III)
5500 / 12125 (GTA Liberty City Stories) |
| N/A | N/A | 5 (GTA III)
4 (GTA Liberty City Stories) |
N/A | AWD (GTA III)
RWD (GTA Liberty City Stories) |
Cannot be observed |
Gallery[]
Grand Theft Auto[]
Grand Theft Auto 2[]
Grand Theft Auto III[]
Static Variants[]
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories[]
A wreck of a early 20th century-style subway car.
- In the mission "Bringing the House Down", early 20th century-style subway cars can be found abandoned in the old subway tunnels.
Prominent Appearances in Gameplay[]
Grand Theft Auto[]
The Train is featured in two missions.
- In the mission Gangsta Bang - Counthash, the protagonist is tasked with blowing up a Train that is used to move the drugs of Sonetti's Gang around the city.
- During the mission Heist Almighty - Itali, the player has to ride a Train that is fitted with a bomb, which will explode shortly after leaving the station of Island Heights.
Trivia[]
2D Universe[]
- Only the station portion of the train tracks in Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto 2 can be accessed by the protagonist, but that too can pose a threat to both the player and NPCs. Because the tracks are electrified, anyone who steps on the tracks for too long will be electrocuted for a few seconds, leading to death (though there is a glitch that allows the player to run along the tracks without dying). It is thus important for the player to exercise caution when traversing the tracks. This feature is absent in train tracks in Grand Theft Auto III thereafter.
3D Universe[]
- In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the icon for the PS4 trophy "Freight Date" appears to be based on the Grand Theft Auto III rendition of the train.
See Also[]
- Train - Listing other forms of trains in the Grand Theft Auto series.
- Subway Car - The trains used on the citywide subway system in Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.