How to start the train: blue key, station and speed lever
Also searched as: how to start the train / turn on the train / unlock the train / train not working / train station / Big Ride / how to slow the train
The short answer
The train is the blue tower's reward. Put five gourds in the slots on top of the blue tower, take the key it releases, shape it at five key cutters starting at the tower door, and follow each cutter's arrow to the train station. Insert the finished key in the station's slot and all the trains start; jump on one for Big Ride.
- Players
- Everyone (the gourd puzzles are co-op)
- Time
- Five puzzles, then a short key-cutter walk
- Location
- Train station beside the blue tower
- Reward
- Every train on the island starts running, plus the Big Ride achievement once you ride one
Rails and a parked train turn up early, but nothing at a station or on the train switches it on. Like the map (red tower) and the tunnels (yellow tower), the railway waits for a tower key. You do not need the green tower first; its chairlift is just a shorter way to reach the blue tower.
Before you start
- Five gourds from any puzzles you have finished - they do not have to come from the puzzles nearest the blue tower
- Nothing else: the only thing the station needs is the finished blue key
Step-by-step 6 steps
- 1
Reach the blue tower
It stands on the eastern half of the island, on the far side of the mountain when you look from the red tower. You can walk there straight after the drawbridge, or take the green tower's chairlift if you already have it.
- 2
Fill the five slots on top
Carry five gourds up the tower and drop one into each slot. The key comes out only when all five are in.
Faster: Any puzzle's gourd fits any slot, so the ones you are already carrying count.
- 3
Shape the key at five cutters
The first cutter is right outside the tower entrance. Put the key in, let it finish, take it out, then follow the arrow on top of that cutter to the next one. Repeat until all five have cut it.
- 4
Insert the key at the station
The last arrow ends at the train station near the tower. Put the key into the slot in the station building - not into a train. That one key starts all the trains on the island at once.
- 5
Ride it for Big Ride
Trains do not stop at stations on their own: jump aboard as one passes, or run alongside the track and climb on. Riding one is what unlocks Big Ride ("Ride the train"); inserting the key alone does not.
Faster: Each station has a board showing where every train is, so check it before you wait. The train also carries a walkie-talkie and radio for talking to players elsewhere.
- 6
Slow it down or stop it
A lever at the front of the train controls it: hold it to slow down and stop, and let go to set it moving again.
Where it goes wrong
These are the places players actually get stuck most often. Working through them in order usually finds the cause.
Other System puzzles
After finishing: Every train on the island, and the Big Ride achievement once you ride one.
Where this solution came from
Every step on this page is stated by at least two of these guides, read on 2026-11-01: IGN, Polygon, Game Rant, Insider Gaming and KeenGamer. The achievement name and its "Ride the train" text come from Valve's achievement data on our achievements page. Details only one guide gives - the exact station count, the direction the trains run, a horn, the lever stopping every train, and map coordinates - are left out until a second source confirms them. We have not played this route ourselves.
Puzzles in this game are not assigned in a fixed order: each tower needs a set number of gourds and has more challenges around it than that, so you choose which ones to clear, in any order. That is why two guides list different puzzle line-ups for the same tower — neither is wrong. Unless a coordinate is credited to a named source it is a community measurement, and later versions can shift it; once you are in the area, trust the landmark over the number.