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The Train
October 20, 2026 at 08:04 PM
Added a gameplay screenshot near the top of the page
The train is the center of Frostrail. It is an armored, steam-powered locomotive that serves as the player's lifeline and moving base, and FakeFish describes it as the only reliable source of heat in a frozen world. Players drive it along the tracks between areas, leave it to scavenge and fight, and return to it to stay warm, craft and push further on. Its power source is the Eden Engine, which the developers call life-sustaining.
The game's own marketing puts heavy weight on the train. The store page says the train is more than a refuge and calls it the only way forward, the February 2026 gameplay trailer announcement opened with the line that the train is the player's lifeline and the tracks the only way forward, and the October 2026 Demo announcement called it home. Steam lists Trains and Base Building among the game's user tags.
The train carries everything the crew needs to survive and keeps them moving through the frozen wasteland. Because it is the main source of heat, every trip away from it is a risk: the store text says every step away from the train is a gamble, and the original reveal warned players not to stray too far from it. See Survival for how heat and cold work around this.
The train is also where much of the game's progression lands. According to the store description, the train has to grow as the struggle gets harder, and players turn it into a moving fortress against the cold and the creatures that hunt them.
The Eden Engine powers the train. The store description tells players to fuel it, manage its power and operate the train to explore further, and the reveal post lists upgrading, maintaining and operating the train and its Eden Engine among the core activities. The April 2026 playtest content sheet summed up this side of the game as fueling up and conducting the train.
As of October 2026, FakeFish has not published which fuels the engine accepts, how fast it burns them, or how its power is split between systems.
The train is driven from a control panel. The official demo FAQ explains that the throttle is on the right side of the control panel and reminds players to release the brakes before trying to move. The demo content image shows gauges on the panel labeled for pressure, speed, heat and consumption; FakeFish has not explained in writing what each gauge does.
The October 2026 demo listed two train changes among its additions since the last playtest:
The access ramp was improved to make boarding easier.
Visibility through the windows was improved so players can see what is ahead.
The demo FAQ notes that removing the first blockade in the tutorial requires completing specific actions, so players should wait until the quest tells them to interact with it. The Spring 2026 development update integrated train defense encounters directly into obstacle-clearing gameplay.
The store page lists several ways to grow and harden the train:
Upgrade type | What the store page describes |
|---|---|
Walls | Reinforce the train's walls |
Weapon stations | Craft weapon stations |
Engine | Upgrade the engine to outpace the horrors that hunt the crew |
Carriages | Expand the train with new carriages |
Crafting stations | Add crafting stations aboard |
Storage | Add storage space |
The store's Early Access notes list upgrading the train under the extra progression planned for the full release, so more train upgrades are expected to arrive during Early Access.
Players can rearrange the inside of the train. The demo FAQ confirms that any item already placed in a wagon can be moved anywhere within that wagon. Damaged doors can be repaired: hover over the door and pick the action with the mouse scroll wheel. The Spring 2026 update also reworked item repair around dedicated repair workstations, which ties into Crafting and Scavenging.
Relics are powerful objects hidden in dungeons. Players who find one can activate it aboard the train for a temporary buff during the pilgrimage. FakeFish introduced them in the May 2026 development update. The update did not name individual relics or list their effects, and as of October 2026 no such list has been published. For where relics are found, see Exploration and Dungeons.
The train also controls when the game saves. Saves are automatic and trigger at each level transition, which happens when the train passes through a tunnel. There is currently no separate manual save. The details are covered in Saving and Progression.
Frostrail can be played solo or in co-op with up to four players. The Early Access notes single out co-op as an area where FakeFish wants to create new and precarious situations. See Multiplayer and Co-op for session setup.
As of October 2026, FakeFish has not announced how many carriages a train can hold, a full list of weapon stations or crafting stations, specific upgrade tiers for the engine, whether the train can be destroyed outright, or any names or statistics for train parts. These details may appear in the roadmaps the developers have said they will publish during Early Access.