I'm still getting my ass kicked here and as nice as subways are, they are so damn expensive!

Is it really that big of a difference that I should forsake the financial ease of trains for the convenience of subways?

AND PLEASE anyone who has anything to say or ask about transit in this game POST IT HERE! :D

You may have found this site: http://www.sc3000.com/knowledge/showarticle.cfm?id=0654&openItemID=

If not, I found it having a lot of info.

From my own observation--- if you get the message that goes something like "________ (City name) has low land values. Is it a bargain or a slum," you are in trouble. When I started adding enough parks etc to get rid of the Ticker Line, I started making money but only enough to grow slowly. And I moved to medium density residential from the beginning.

I'm about to go postal here. :P I'm using roads, trains, subways, AND bus stops and I am still getting the "can't get here from there" and I'm losing citizens on mass!

I actually had a great city going there and then poof, the constants warnings and the exodus.

That sucks man. I hate seeing abandoned buildings in my once beautiful zones. If I had to guess, I'd think that your people might have trouble getting to the industrial zones? Well, I can tell you what I'm doing if that helps.
I build my city's residential+commercial sectors in huge blocks, with enough space in between to build railways in the case of lower and medium residential+commercial zones, and highways in the case of high density residential and commercial zones. Each block gets several bus stations in the residential areas, and subway stations as well in the case of high density residential areas.
The railways converge and multiple railway lines go to the massive industrial area, along with a couple of roads and later a highway. Also, I make sure that I have multiple train stations in my industrial zones as well. It seems to be important because each of the train stations in the industrial area has a LOT of daily commuters. So far it seems to working out pretty well:

PS I didn't build the railway tunnels until way later when I had a lot of excess cash

Looks like you double up on roads and rails; that was going to be my next plan. Also your zone squares are smaller; I've been going six by six, and even bigger on the cost lines because it can be a bitch to put roads and rails on the coast.

Do you progress to denser zones as you move across the map or do you replace lighter ones with denser ones as you gain in population and profit?

And I hope you don;t mine me pestering you with this stuff. :P

Lol pestering, as if :) I'm sure bigger zones could work, with a sufficient transportation/road system. But I like to keep industrial zones 3x3 though, and later 4x4, so that each block is eventually taken up by a single building.

I don't really change the zone intensity much afterwards. The exception is for industrial zones and zones placed early game when cash is in short supply. When I create a new block I plan it as a low density block, or a medium density block, or a high density block. But because of cash shortages in the beginning I have to use low density housing for areas I intend to be higher density, until I can afford to demolish and replace it. The planning comes in for working out separation between the blocks because I put rail way lines between the blocks: one between a low density block and the wilderness, two between a low density block and medium density block, and 3 between two medium density blocks. High Density blocks get surrounded by highways instead. I'm not saying this is the best way. It's just what I'm trying out at the moment.
Three railway lines take up a lot of space if you separate them with one space to keep them from forming weird looking loops, but you can win back that space later on with tunnels once you can afford it. Subways would be cheaper than tunnels (weirdly), but I like the look of rail tracks :P It doesn't make sense to me for downtown suburbia to have subways :P

Wait a minute! :P
How the hell do you get that much wide open flat space!? :P

One thing I hate about 3000 is that even when you turn mountains way down you still get shit loads of them. In 2 a and 4 when you want plains, YOU GET PLAINS! :P

Uhmm, the level terrain tool? Jesus, have you been playing without it? :D
Well sometimes I cheat a little bit with that tool in world creation as well. I usually use it to flatten enough space for my one or two residential+comm blocks before starting with my city. But it's not that expensive to use otherwise.

But yeah, I noticed that 3000 likes quite hilly terrain even when the slider is set to the minimum.

I suppose you could create a really cool and natural looking city without the tool, but damn, it sure will complicate things a lot.

I've seen Rails taken into the middle of a bigger zone. Is that workable?

That's what I thought. :P

Yes, I use it all the time, but only when I'm paying to do it.

I quickly tested it and surprisingly my train station got commuters even when 3 spaces away from the nearest road. So yes, seems like it could work. But I don't know how the commuter system works exactly. For example, if a train station only services a certain radius, or a certain radius as well as well as a certain distance from the station by road as long as it's 3 spaces from a road, or something like that. If it's the latter then perhaps a station in the middle of a big zone is to make sure the station only services that big zone. But I really don't know. I gave all my rail stations direct road access.

And it didn't need a road?

Doesn't look that way no :)
Ah ok , you had me worried there for a sec. Sorry for assuming the worst :)

That tool is invaluable, seeing as how useless the raise/lower tool is at dealing with those annoying up/down+sideways sloped tiles that get in your way when you try to place roads/rails/power lines :P

Thanks. I got up to 250,000 people in a workable City but hit highways. I'm starting over to give them room. So I will try 6x7 industrial areas with room for the railway. Use the subway/depot thing to save room. See if I can get to a 1 million in a workable City.

I've used the flattening tool for two zones. But also the Port. Creating that "coastal land" is too big a pain in the middle of game. I keep getting the land just a little too high. Screaming at a land mass isn't fun.