EA sends word that Rail Simulator will be headed to the PC in Europe before the end of 2006. No North American date was announced so we’ll have to hold off on that for now. Train buffs can at least enjoy the screenshots they sent over.

Rail Simulator took to the Rails publicly for the first time at the annual European Games Convention at Leipzig and announced a working partnership with Deutsche Bahn. The first playable version of the game was exhibited at the show on the Electronic Arts and Microsoft Games for Windows stands as well as to the worlds press in the business centre.

Kuju also announced Deutsche Bahn as Rail Simulator’s official German railroad partner; Deutsche Bahn is the leading railway and logistics operator in Germany. Kuju is working with Deutsche Bahn to ensure that its German route, which will feature the DB BR101 running between Hagen and Siegen, is as accurate as possible.

And of course, Rail Simulator’s very first screenshots were captured! Jonathan Newth, MD for Kuju’s Rail Simulator, commented “We’re delighted to be able to release our first set of Rail Simulator screenshots and with Rail Simulator’s first major outing at the Leipzig Games Convention!”

Rail Simulator will offer the opportunity for players to take charge of steam, diesel and electric trains on real routes in the UK and Germany. Challenging and fun gameplay will even enable players to design their own ideal journey routes. Rail Simulator will become the gold standard rail simulation title and will fully support the creation of add-on third party content.