Ask any Grand Theft Auto fan who’s old enough to drive and they’ll probably tell you of their fond memories chasing after the train during that one particular mission involving Carl Johnson, also known as “CJ”, and Big Smoke or driving the same train and going too fast. Unfortunately, as fun as it was to drive at nearly 70 miles an hour, Rockstar never bothered to bring the feature back – until now.
Exactly two decades after Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas came out, Rockstar is finally letting players drive the train in Grand Theft Auto Online.
As part of the latest story mission for GTA Online, The Cluckin’ Bell Farm Raid, Rockstar is bringing everyone’s favorite indestructible object back into the spotlight. As part of the multi-mission update, you and up to three of your pals can work together to steal and drive the Freight Train to deliver yourselves deep into the heart of the cartel at the Cluckin’ Bell Factory located in Paleto Bay.
You can only drive the train for a short while and you only get to do it during this specific mission (not to mention, you can’t derail the Freight Train or send it flying off the tracks) but it’s proof that, a decade later, Rockstar can still surprise us in GTA Online.
Trains are a fixture of the GTA franchise. Rockstar introduced them in Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto 2 as a means of transportation but weren’t included in the PlayStation versions of the games due to hardware limitations. They returned in Grand Theft Auto 3 and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories as an elevated and subway rail system, taking inspiration from the real-life Chicago “L” that still operates in Chicago, Illinois. Trains were once again in GTA: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto 4, and Grand Theft Auto 5, but as previously mentioned, you could only drive them in the 2004 title.
Curiously enough, trains weren’t in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City even though there are several train lines serving the state of Miami, Florida, which was the real-life inspiration for the fictional city. This design choice eventually gave birth to the myths of trains existing in the game as a hidden feature.
It’s unclear seen if Grand Theft Auto 6 will feature trains but the job listings spotted so far don’t hint at their existence in the game.
Since GTA 6 is set in a modern-day rendition of Vice City, it’s possible Rockstar may omit them from gameplay, but who knows? Now Rockstar has done it twice, so what’s stopping it from doing it again in their most expensive game ever?
