Power Functions 2.0 Will Be Featured in Upcoming LEGO City Train Sets.

For many toy collectors, LEGO play sets are already the best there is in their opinion. But even the best can be made better. And how do you make LEGO even better? By giving static models of vehicles for example, the power to move, light up and generally be animated.

This has been the purview of LEGO Power Functions, mechanical and electric components that give certain LEGO models motion and sound. In fact, the brand has already developed a new version of these systems with Power Functions 2.0, and two LEGO City train sets will be the first to incorporate them.

In yet another wave of updates coming from this year’s Nuremberg Toy Fair, word is out that the two latest train model sets carrying the LEGO City line name will incorporate Power Functions 2.0 as part of their inner workings. Expected to be released this summer, the first sets that will incorporate the latest power functions will be the LEGO City Passenger Train (60197) and the LEGO City Cargo Train (60198), which bares a remarkable similarity to previous sets such as 2014’s High Speed Passenger Train (60051) and Cargo Train (60052).

The expected Power Functions 2.0 add-on features haven’t been specified just yet, but Promobricks, who also happened to be on the floor at the Nuremberg Toy Fair, reports that this new feature will do away with the old, infrared remote control system, and will make use of a newer Bluetooth wireless protocol that allows the train to be controlled remotely using an app on any mobile device. Pretty cool, right? The only caveat is that the new Power Functions 2.0 is not compatible with its predecessors. Meaning that the old plugs of the previous system will not fit the new Smart Hub.

The future reception of these upcoming LEGO City sets 60197 and 60198 will be the first major product test for Power Functions 2.0, so model train enthusiasts would be among those who need to keep an eye out for these sets when they do come. Original Power Functions accessories will still be available in LEGO stores that carry them, as well as on shop.LEGO.com, so that’s that for now.

Credits again to Promobricks for this piece of info.