Open Rails is a train simulator project based on Microsoft XNA game studio. Open Rails is not an improvement to MSTS, but a complete new game platform that can read MSTS routes, activities, consists, and train sets. It currently uses the MSTS entries in the Windows registry to locate where your MSTS files are on your computer to read them into the Open Rails game engine. Open Rails does not utilize or change any original Microsoft Train Simulator code. Open Rails will eventually be a completely stand-alone sim, once suitable utilities have been developed for it.