Vehicles don't go to depots for maintenance

[Dangphi]

Despite the fact that I have set all-kind vehicles maintenance interval to 50day/%, they just don't go to depots for service though their reliability has dropped to 0%. Especially the trains. When I turned my game on, I found that all of my trains have not done maintenance for up to 3 in-game years. The same problem to road vehicles and ships. Help me please, I'm sick of having my vehicles left broken in the middle of nowhere.

[Auge]

Hello

According to your screenshots maintenance should be possible. Additionally your report, that also non-rail-vehicles are affected, smells like a wrong setting (combination). To check, what's going wrong, we need a savegame.

Tschö, Auge

[Dangphi]

I delete that saved file, but I have reconstructed an example, and ofcourse it has the same problem (The extra one is that a train in the depot near Iron Ore mine can not find a path to get out of the depot)

[LaChupacabra]

According to your screenshots maintenance should be possible.

No, this problem does exist. The reason is that the depots are too far from the main route. Trains can go to the depot if the distance from the workshop doesn't exceed ca. 15 track sections. What is important! this is counted from the fork. This is deliberate in order to slightly limit the traveling of trains to random, too distant depots.

To avoid such situations, try to build depots closer to the line or set depots in orders.

To developers.
There is another one reported issue on Github(#7901), but related to this one, where pathfinder directs trains to depots, after leaving which it is unable to find further route or the train has to travel the entire route again. An example of this problem are the depots located just behind the station.
I don't know how difficult it can be, but in my opinion, when looking for a servicing place, pathfinder should take into account how much longer the path to the current goal will be. Perhaps then it will also be possible to significantly raise the above-mentioned distance limit of about 15 tiles. Two problems would be resolved.

Below is the save that I have for a few months, which I forgot to post to the issue on github, and the screenshot showing the problem.

Question: Which depot will pathfinder take the train to?

Pathfinder vs. Depots.png

(238.44 KiB) Not downloaded yet

The answer is B. Why? Because A is too far from the fork and pathfinder ignores it at all and continues on. Then pathfinder will see depot B to which the distance is less than 15, so this is where it will direct the train.
Further on this route there are other examples of bad choices of pathfinder, which currently directs the train to the service, doesn't take into account at all how much the route will be extended.

[Dangphi]

But in the first pic I sent, the length of the rail to that depot is definitely shorter than 15. Then how come they are not using it?

[Eddi]

it's not counting number of tiles, but it includes pathfinder penalties (e.g. level crossings, signals, etc.)

and in case of path signals, it cannot undo a previously reserved path, which may push back the point of decision further away from the depot

[LaChupacabra]

But in the first pic I sent, the length of the rail to that depot is definitely shorter than 15. Then how come they are not using it?

I don't know, they should theoretically. Maybe you had an order to stop at the beginning of the station? Note that in the save you have included, there is also this problem at Pedington South, but it only affects trains that stop on more distant platforms.

it's not counting number of tiles, but it includes pathfinder penalties (e.g. level crossings, signals, etc.)

Yes, and there is another problem with that...

Servicing problem.png (118.42 KiB) Viewed 1105 times

Pathfinder "doesn't see" the depot marked in red because the penalty of two sections of the station is too big - as a result, the train in the middle track is never serviced.

Do you see a possibility that pathfinder, noticing seeing the depot, could compare how much a visit to it will extend the way to the destination? Then only those depots to which the train should not actually go would be omitted. (In the event of a failure, the tolerance of the distance extension could be correspondingly greater.)

[Dangphi]

So how should I build a depot for a full service?

[Auge]

Hello

So how should I build a depot for a full service?

I do it with explicit depot orders. That way I build a network with only a few (possibly overcrowded) depots. My screenshot illustrates two attempts.

ottd-depot-orders.png (51.59 KiB) Viewed 1105 times

train #1:

Go to a specific depot when it's necessary after the specific previous order. The depot is located in the near of the station in order #1 (here: Morges East). The train decides to go to depot after fulfilling order #2 (here: La Tour-de-Peilz) and will go to order #1 afterwards.

train #2:

Same regime as before but for the no-servicing-with-freight-or-passengers-fraction with a conditional order to not load new freight before going to depot. The vehicle will unload its freight and will enter the depot in an empty state.

For use on long lines one can insert a waypoint in front of the area where the depot is located into the order list, to put the decision to servicing to the latest possible moment. That way the decision will not be made in the last station (before possibly running a long way to the depot) but to a few tiles before the depot.

Example without waypoint:

1. Go to Morges East
2. Go to La Tour-de-Peilz <= Decision to go to depot or to go to Morges East
3. Service at Morges Train Depot

Example wit waypoint:

1. Go to Morges East
2. Go to La Tour-de-Peilz
3. Go via Morges Waypoint <= Decision to go to depot or to go to Morges East (waypoint is located a few tiles in front of the station Morges East (see second screenshot))
3. Service at Morges Train Depot

ottd-depot-orders-wp.png (45.87 KiB) Viewed 1105 times

So far for my attepmt to handle the servicing issues.

Tschö, Auge

[gebik]

So how should I build a depot for a full service?

What you can also do without making special order is a forced servicing - put a depot somewhere on your network (on a mainline, on a station entry, ...) and set up rails in the way to give trains only way to go to the destination through the depot and to service there. Just like in my image:

forced service.png

(106.62 KiB) Not downloaded yet

You can see there a simple mainline and drive-through terminal entry setups. Just note this will lower capacity of chosen place, because trains pull into and out of depot slowly.

[Dangphi]

Thank you all