Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-24.168.250.116-20131202180652/@comment-5596770-20140105185001

Having a 2nd and 3rd station depends a lot on what your goals are in the game.

The most basic reason for having 2nd and 3rd station is if you have run out of room to place building in your primary station. Additional passenger production allows you to send out passenger trains more often, or to field larger passenger trains without worrying about running out. Some people might choose to replace the lower production buildings in their primary station before moving to the 2nd and 3rd stations.

For me, I like to keep up with game content as I level. When I felt i had the necessary resource production to do so (i.e. it wouldn't interfere with keeping up with contracts or train slots), I started buying the 2nd and 3rd stations and all the associated street upgrades. Right now, I have all the necessary resources stockpiled to complete the last street upgrade for the 3rd station, however I have ~720 free spaces in my primary station, ~560 free spaces in my 2nd station, and ~920 free spaces in my 3rd station. For some people, this would be drivig them crazy because I've spent a bunch of resources for street space I'm not using. For me, I only have limited time to play per day, so I almost never use up all of my passengers anyway - the extra passenger production just doesn't matter for me.

If you have a lot of friends for TrainStation, there are two buildings designed to help manage train flow, which are designed to be placed in the 2nd or 3rd stations. Switch Outpost will redirect all International trains (trains highlighted yellow when they arrive) delivered to you from your primary station to either your 2nd or 3rd station (whichever station the Switch Outpost is placed in). The Train Yard Tower works the same way, but for Express trains (trains highlighted light blue when they arrive) instead of International trains.

I guess in summary..

Pros:
 * Additional street space
 * Additional train management (Switch Outpost, Train Yard Tower)
 * It may be a little silly, but I like to keep buildings and decorations from Halloween and Christmas. When they are not in season, I place them in my 2nd or 3rd station instead of placing them in storage.

Cons:
 * Spending resources on the 2nd and 3rd station that may have been used somewhere else. This isn't necessarily a contra if you truly benefit from purchasing the 2nd and 3rd stations, or if you aren't using the resources for anything else.