Factorio · Refueling · Single-locomotive baseline
Refuel interrupt stuck? Check what the station actually loads
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Use the same fuel item in the low-fuel trigger, the station’s supply and the departure condition. If a train keeps refueling, check that fuel enters the locomotive and makes the trigger false. If fueling finishes but the train still waits, inspect its next destination.
One locomotive, ordinary coal, unmodded fuel rules · Published October 18, 2026
A baseline you can read without a wildcard
- Keep a working pickup/drop-off schedule and a reachable stop named Refuel.
- Supply that stop with coal and position an inserter to load the stopped locomotive, rather than its cargo wagon.
- Add a low-coal interrupt. Wube’s pictured example triggers below 50 coal.
- At Refuel, require more than 100 coal AND five seconds of inactivity before departure.
- Observe one complete visit before sharing the rule with more trains.
These are example thresholds, not a calculated safe range for every network. The low threshold must leave enough fuel to reach the stop. Count thresholds also stop being interchangeable when you change fuel: one coal and one rocket fuel supply very different energy.
Match the symptom to the check
| Symptom | Inspect | Correction |
|---|---|---|
| Coal condition never completes | Is the station supplying another fuel item? | Align the actual supplied item and both conditions. |
| Train visits again immediately | Is its low-fuel condition still true? | Fix loading or the exit requirement; more waiting time does not create fuel. |
| Leaves without enough fuel | Did an OR timer allow departure independently? | Use AND when both fuel and inactivity must be satisfied. |
| Fuel requirement is met but departure is blocked | Does the next stop exist, have capacity and have a legal route? | Use the destination checklist rather than repeatedly editing refueling. |
Expand only after the single-engine route works
For a second locomotive, inspect that engine’s fuel inventory too. A station layout that reaches the leading engine may not reach another position in the train. Do not copy this one-engine count example and assume every engine is fueled.
Named interrupts are shared: editing one can affect other trains using it. Test a changed rule on a separately named interrupt before applying it across a fleet. A successful result is a loaded locomotive, a false low-fuel trigger and a return to the intended transport route—not simply a train spending five seconds at Refuel.
Related railway checks
Destination full or No path · Generic cargo routing · All Factorio guides
Sources and version
Published October 18, 2026. Source-based explanation of PC 2.0-era railway controls, checked against the official references on this date. Developer refueling example · Railway conditions and interrupt troubleshooting · Locomotive fuel inventory · Fuel energy reference. Examples below the pictured settings are our diagnostic recommendations, not measured throughput results. Images are used under Wube’s website-asset guidance. Official game and demo.