What actually pays in Transport Fever 3?
The manual names two fast sources of income: carrying passengers between or within towns, and carrying cargo from industry to industry or from industry to town.
Revenue rises with speed and distance, and the distance that counts is the straight line between the origin and the final destination. Empty vehicles earn nothing, so a truck or train that carries raw materials out and finished goods back earns on both legs.
Every industry recipe and warehouse rule referenced by money decisions lives on the checked data pages: /guides/industries and /guides/cargo (data checked 14 October 2026; patch scope checked 22 October 2026).
Sources: TF3 manual · Tips and Tricks
Why does a long detour lose money?
Payment is based on straight-line distance, but maintenance is charged on the actual length of track or road. The manual’s conclusion is that long S-shaped or U-shaped detours can earn poor returns: you pay upkeep on every kilometre and are paid for the shortcut you did not build.
| Choice | Effect on income | Effect on cost |
|---|---|---|
| A more direct alignment | Unchanged | Less upkeep |
| A faster vehicle on the same route | Higher, according to the manual | Depends on the model |
| Return cargo on the same vehicle | Higher | Unchanged |
| More vehicles than the queue needs | Unchanged | Higher running costs |
On speed, Whisper of the House reports one test in which a faster locomotive did not raise the payment per unit; bigger totals came from carrying more cargo. Check your own line’s Balance after an upgrade.
Sources: TF3 manual · Tips and Tricks
How do loans work?
You start with an empty account, so the first loan is part of the opening. The rules below come from the manual’s Company and Finances page.
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Starting cash | A new game starts with an empty bank account |
| How many loans | Up to four at once |
| Offers | Random but weighted: usually small cheap loans and large expensive ones |
| New offers | Appear periodically, not right after you take one |
| What a card shows | Principal, term in months, interest rate and annual repayment |
| Repayment | Paid in 15-day instalments |
| Interest | Charged monthly; the rate depends on difficulty |
| Early repayment | You can repay the outstanding debt in full once you have the cash |
Whisper of the House’s money guide, updated 8 October 2026, shows two offers from one save: $12M over 108 months at 10% and $9M over 48 months at 7%. Treat them as examples of the range, since offers are random.
Sources: TF3 manual · Company and Finances
Where do you see whether a line makes money?
Open the finance window by clicking the balance in the bottom-left corner, through the radial menu or by selecting your headquarters. The Finances tab is a table of income and spending by year, for up to four years, split by road, rail, water and air.
Each transport row combines vehicle running costs, building and track upkeep and delivery revenue. General holds warehouse upkeep and subsidy payments or penalties, Investments holds one-off purchases, and Loan interest shows the monthly fees. For a single route, the line window’s Balance graph compares running costs with income: blue above red is a profitable year.
Sources: TF3 manual · Company and Finances · TF3 manual · Lines and Vehicles
Are subsidies worth taking?
A subsidy is a time-limited contract. Accepting it usually pays money upfront or improves a town’s reputation; finishing it can add town experience, an extra payment or a limited-time 2x income effect on eligible lines. Missing the deadline reverses the upfront reward and may add a fine or a reputation loss. Declining an offer costs nothing.
| Subsidy type | How you complete it |
|---|---|
| Supply Industry | Deliver the requested amount of cargo to an industry that has not started production |
| Supply Town | Deliver the requested amount of a cargo to buildings in the town |
| Connect Towns | Run a line serving both towns that carries at least one passenger between them without a transfer |
| Transport Workers | Deliver enough workers from nearby towns to activate the industry’s productivity boost |
The Free Game setting Subsidies Risk raises delivery targets, shortens deadlines and lowers upfront payments as you turn it up. Take a subsidy when it matches a route you already planned to build.
Sources: TF3 manual · Subsidies · TF3 manual · Free Game
How do you cut costs before buying more vehicles?
- Give every train enough wagons. The manual says an under-filled train will likely lose money.
- Match the locomotive’s top speed to its wagons, so you are not paying for speed the train cannot use.
- Make platforms at least as long as the train, or loading and unloading slow down.
- Use specialised vehicles and terminals where they exist: they shorten loading times.
- Sell or reassign vehicles that run with empty seats. AllThings.How’s beginner tips note that an empty vehicle still incurs full maintenance.
- Follow contour lines. Terrain modification is expensive and vehicles slow down on steep hills.
Sources: TF3 manual · Tips and Tricks · TF3 manual · Lines and Vehicles
Which settings change how much you earn?
Free Game exposes the economy directly. Passenger Income and Cargo Income are multipliers. Inflation reduces income in proportion to company rank. Four finance sliders set Vehicle Costs, Vehicle Maintenance, Infrastructure Costs and Infrastructure Upkeep, and Vehicle Maintenance Effect controls how much poor maintenance raises an older vehicle’s running cost.
If you want to build without the economy at all, the game ships with Sandbox Mode and No Costs.
Sources: TF3 manual · Free Game
What should you check when a line loses money?
- Open the line’s Balance graph and confirm it is red over a full year, not just the first months. The manual notes that complex networks may lose money for a few months before turning a profit.
- Check loaded cargo against capacity. If vehicles run half empty, remove one before changing anything else.
- Look at the return leg. Can the same vehicle bring something back?
- Compare the route’s length with the straight line between its ends.
- Check the destination still demands the cargo; town demands change as the town grows.
Sources: TF3 manual · Tips and Tricks · TF3 manual · Lines and Vehicles
Where this answer comes from
Checked 2026-10-10. Each claim links to the published material it comes from. Inspection sequences are Routebook’s editorial suggestions.
- TF3 manual · Tips and Tricks Official wiki
- TF3 manual · Company and Finances Official wiki
- TF3 manual · Lines and Vehicles Official wiki
- TF3 manual · Subsidies Official wiki
- TF3 manual · Free Game Official wiki