I got this game a month-ish ago and after being really charmed by the tutorial I kind of dropped it for a bit. Part of it was that i stopped having as much time for it and part of it was that the first "real" scenario is a big step up in the difficulty.
Aside from it being a busy December, I think my break was mostly down to how much guidance they give you, which is not that much. You get a hint to connect up to neighbouring metropoleis first and that investing in lumber exports as a side business is a good idea, but aside from that there's not a ton to go off of. The goals for this particular mission are pretty broad and generally synonymous with just "do well", so there's not a lot to go off there.
And so, I think it took me around 10 false starts of various lengths until I actually managed to beat the scenario! The thing I only kind of understood from the tutorial is that this isn't just a cute town/train builder like I thought. You can spend ages futzing with timetables and scheduling to make the most use of your track, but all of that can end up being a distraction from the real thing: you're running a company here! They don't bring it up in the tutorial because a lot of these mechanics are breezy on Easy mode, but you gotta manage your bottom line as much as you manage your trains! Most of my attempts ended up failing because I expanded too fast right at the start and didn't manage to generate a sustainable income. Sure, I was coming out in surplus, but as I ended up learning, "surplus" and "retained earnings" are very different things (in here, and I assume in real life). If you're looking to learn this game, I think the biggest tip I can give is you really gotta look at that retained earnings line! At the start of a scenario, you're not playing with 'your' money - all your starting funds are from investors who you gotta pay dividends to. If your earnings are red for too many years in a row, you'll end up getting kicked out as president and then it's game over!
Anyway, this is a long, rambling way of saying the Yuji Himukai illustrations and cute 3D towns that grow organically over time tricked me into knowing what the fuck an "initial public offering" is and pacing in front of my computer hoping my retained earnings are in the black by the dividend payment date.