Look, if you didn’t spend at least one Saturday night in 2013 getting absolutely flattened by a high-speed bullet train while trying to lead your team in Search and Destroy, did you even play Call of Duty? Black Ops 2 Express is one of those maps that just sticks in the back of your brain. It's not as flashy as Raid and it doesn't have the "legend" status of Standoff, but it basically perfected the futuristic aesthetic Treyarch was going for.
Fast forward to 2026. We’ve seen countless maps come and go. We've seen "remasters" that felt like cheap paint jobs. Yet, people still talk about Express. It’s the map where the environment was just as much of an enemy as the guy running an MP7 with Laser Sight.
The Train: A Love-Hate Relationship
Honestly, the dynamic map element—the actual train—was the star of the show. You’re in a heated gunfight, the barriers go down, that alarm starts blaring, and suddenly you have about three seconds to decide if you're going to make a hero play or get turned into a highlight reel for the wrong reasons.
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I've seen so many snipers get tunnel vision through a DSR-50 scope, completely oblivious to the literal ton of steel barreling toward them. It's hilarious. But also, it was a tactical tool. You could use the train to cut off a rotation. If the enemy team was trying to push from the Terminal to the tracks, the train served as a massive, temporary wall.
- The Mechanic: The train moves from right to left (or north to south, depending on how you view the minimap).
- The Warning: Barriers drop and lights flash. If you’re on the tracks when the horn sounds, you're basically toast.
- The Strategy: Smart players would bait enemies onto the tracks right before the event triggered.
The Layout Most People Get Wrong
A lot of people think Express is just a simple "U-shaped" map. It’s not. It’s a masterclass in verticality and "hidden" lanes. You’ve got the Main Hall, which is a death trap if you don't know the corners, and then you have those two mirrored bridges.
The bridges are where the real games are won. If you control the bridge, you control the tracks. But the catch is the glass. You can see through it, but you're also a sitting duck for someone sitting in the Ticket Booth or the Control Room.
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Key Power Positions
- The Ticket Booth: In the center of the Main Hall. It offers a 360-degree view if you’re quick enough, but it’s mostly used for holding the B flag in Domination.
- The Control Room: Overlooking the tracks. A ladder leads up here, which makes it a favorite for campers, but a well-placed C4 through the window usually solves that problem.
- The Stationary Train: There’s a train that never moves on one of the platforms. You can actually go inside it. Most rookies forget those three partitions are accessible, making it the perfect spot for a flank.
Is it Lore Accurate?
Here's a fun fact: Express is actually based on the California High-Speed Rail project. In the game, it’s set in Los Angeles in 2025. If you look at the rail maps inside the terminal, the routes shown are almost identical to the real-world plans for the LA-to-San Francisco line.
Treyarch predicted a two-hour travel time. In reality, current estimates for the actual project are closer to three hours, so the "future" version of the U.S. was a bit more optimistic about infrastructure than we turned out to be.
Search and Destroy: The True Test
If you ask any competitive player, they’ll tell you Express was built for Search and Destroy. The bomb sites were perfectly placed.
Bombsite A was out by the Control Room, which was an absolute nightmare to defuse because of the long sightlines. Bombsite B was inside the Main Hall, tucked near the Ticket Room. It created this high-stakes tension where you had to decide between the "safe" indoor route or the "risky" outdoor sprint across the tracks.
I remember watching the 2013 CoD Champs. The way teams like Fariko Impact and compLexity handled rotations on Express was like watching a chess match with submachine guns. They knew every single pixel of those stairs.
Why We Still Care in 2026
We’ve had remakes in Cold War and most recently in Black Ops 7. But the original Black Ops 2 Express hits different. Maybe it’s the color palette—that clean, white-and-blue "near-future" look—or maybe it's just the nostalgia of the Pick-10 system.
The map didn't need gimmicks. It had flow. You could play with a Remington 870 MCS shotgun and dominate the hallways, or sit back with a Target Finder LSAT (if you wanted to be that guy) and hold the platforms. It was balanced.
How to Win More Games on Express Today
If you’re hopping back into a retro lobby or playing a remastered version, keep these things in mind:
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- Stop running across the tracks. Use the stationary train partitions. It takes two extra seconds but keeps you out of the sniper lanes.
- Booby-trap the bridge stairs. A Bouncing Betty or a Claymore on the middle landing of the stairs is almost a guaranteed kill because people sprint up those without checking.
- The Elevator. There’s an accessible elevator in the Main Hall. It’s a great spot to call in scorestreaks like a Lodestar or VTOL Warship because it gives you a roof over your head.
- Watch the map. Seriously. The "Zombies are coming" post-it note on the ladder board isn't just an easter egg; it's a reminder that this map has layers.
Next Steps for Your Gameplay:
Go into a private match and practice the "nose-climb." You can actually jump onto the front of the stationary train and mantle into the bridge window. Most people expect you to come up the stairs, so coming through the window is a top-tier "pro move" that still works today. Once you've mastered the movement, focus on holding the Ticket Booth with a Trophy System—it's the only way to survive the grenade spam at the B flag.