FLEET SIZE & HEADWAY CALCULATOR
Transport Fever 3 line planner
Turn a measured round trip into a fleet plan. Calculate how many vehicles you need, their evenly spaced headway and the capacity your line can move.
Your line
Use the same time basis throughout. Target units/hour must match the minutes used for your round trip; do not enter game-year demand as hourly demand.
YOUR FLEET PLAN
Vehicles needed
2 more vehicles than your current fleet.
- Evenly spaced headway
- 6 min
- Planned line capacity
- 800 units/hour
- Current fleet capacity
- 400 units/hour
- Expected delivered units/cycle
- 80
Vehicles are rounded up to meet the target with the load percentage you entered.
Planning estimate: one loaded delivery per loop, identical vehicles and a stable cycle. Track queues and loading delays can change the real result.
How to measure your line
- Follow one vehicle from departure until it returns to the same stop ready to depart again. Include stops and waiting; keep game speed consistent.
- Use capacity for the passengers or cargo you are planning. Choose a load percentage based on observations, rather than assuming every trip is full.
- Enter a target measured on the same time basis, or choose a departure interval. Compare the plan, then check the line again after changing the fleet.
Calculation method & assumptions
Expected units per cycle = vehicle capacity × expected load / 100. One vehicle’s hourly capacity = expected units per cycle × 60 / round-trip minutes.
Demand mode: vehicles = target hourly throughput / one vehicle’s hourly capacity, rounded up. Zero target demand gives zero required vehicles.
Headway mode: vehicles = round-trip minutes / target headway minutes, rounded up. Planned headway = round-trip minutes / vehicles.
Line capacity = vehicles × one vehicle’s hourly capacity. Current fleet capacity uses the same cycle and expected load, so you can compare the two plans.
This is planning arithmetic, not a revenue or traffic simulation. Count one loaded delivery per cycle and plan opposite directions separately. It does not convert game years into real hours, infer vehicle stats or predict how adding vehicles changes congestion.
Research references checked on 11 October 2026: Fleet Size & Headway ↗ · Line and Vehicle Planner ↗
Line planner questions
Does this work for trains, buses and cargo trucks?
Yes, if the vehicles have compatible capacity and similar measured cycles. Use the full train’s capacity. For mixed vehicles, multiple deliveries per loop or changing queues, calculate each comparable service separately and verify in-game.
Why can actual throughput be lower?
Vehicles may bunch together, wait at signals or leave below the load you entered. The headway calculator assumes evenly spaced departures and a stable cycle. Re-measure after changing vehicles or the route.