Well TBF OP is more or less correct, and I say this as a person who is pretty much into trains (although not train sims specifically). All a conductor can do is accelerate and brake - respect speed limits, brake in time so you don't overrun the platform at the next station (for passenger trains), be on the lookout for people/vehicles crossing the tracks illegally (and hope that they get out of the way fast enough, because once you see them, it's usually too late to stop in time, unless the train is really slow), be careful (especially when you have a freight train) not to be too slow before an incline, otherwise you might not make it all the way up etc. etc. Where you go is not your decision, the points are set remotely.
replyThere is a lot more than that. Monitoring things like power generation, fuel, breaking ability, wheel heating sensors, managing door systems, human aspects like reading signals and lights and deciding what to do, all the way down to simple things like horns, wipers, and lights. Its pretty much exactly the same as a car but without a steering wheel and lots of added electrical systems.
replyWould you say a car is just accelerate, breaking, and steering?
Just my experience from being on trains, they accelerate, cruise, slow down and stop am I missing anything? They must be ripe for automation.
replyPretty much (see Docklands Light Railway), with the caveat of most trains still needing a safety driver to watch for humans.
replyJust my experience from being on planes, they take off, cruise, slow down and land, am I missing anything?
reply...seriously, 99%+ of the job of a conductor (and of a pilot) could be automated, the reason you still have a person (or two) in the cockpit is the rest of the time. As the saying goes, "flying is hours and hours of boredom sprinkled with a few seconds of sheer terror". And the same is also valid for trains. There are automated trains, but AFAIK all of them are metros or people movers where the whole system is closed off (platform doors etc.) and track conditions are closely monitored. I'm not aware of an automated train running on a "traditional" track network.
Cmon planes move is 3 axis (yes trains technically do but not via the controls) and take-off landing is a lot more complex than leaving/stopping at a station, the comparison is crazy.
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