Running trains in the early years is a little problematic. The locomotives are slow so they take quiet a lot of time to reach the closest villages. And travelling time is the decisive factor why people will take the train, or not. So:
- Keep train routes short, straight an flat
- Have maximum about 8-10 minute frequency (preferable with only 1 train to reduce the running costs)
- Have bus or tram lines from the station to one ore more key city centre points, straight , no circular line as one see them being build a lot. (people can walk from one city end to the other within 20 minutes. They don’t need your bus. You have to convince people to go to the station as quick as possible, in one straight line)
- have the bus/tram routes with max about 3 minutes frequency.
- Let it run about 2-3 years for it to become popular. You should get about 30-50 passengers per run, which just covers the running costs (in hard mode)