High speed rail in Nouvelle Alexandrie
Nouvelle Alexandrie has an extensive network of High-speed rail lines. As of 1732 AN, several new lines are being constructed. The current network, as of 1734 AN, comprises 700 km (440 mi) of tracks, with rapid expansion underway to increase it to 1,500 km (950 mi), which would make it one of the largest in the world. The first New Alexandrian high-speed railway, the AV Keltia, linking Cárdenas to Parap, opened in 1710 AN. Since then, two other lines have opened: AV Alduria and AV Lyrica, in 1714 AN and 1734 AN, respectively.
The NAR, Nouvelle Alexandrie's state-owned rail company, owns and operates the bulk of the network through its flagship Alte Velocidad division. The network is highly radial, with lines in Keltia centering on Cárdenas, and lines in Alduria centering on Punta Santiago.
The high-speed rail is one of the main methods for intercity travel for people across the country: for example, the distance between Cárdenas and Parap is covered in less than 3 hours by train; whereas car travel along the C1 motorway takes in general between 4 to 5 hours, depending on traffic. This has also led to the Government banning interregional air flights between said cities in 1732 AN, reducing pollution and costs for passengers.
Tracks
The newest high-speed lines allow speeds up to 320 km/h (199 mph) in normal operation; with older tracks permitting speeds at 270 km/h (169 mph). In city centres, AV trains also run on conventional lines, with maximum speeds of up to 200 km/h (124 mph). This allows them to reach major train hubs and secondary destinations without building new tracks all the way, lowering costs.
Track Design
All lines use standard gauge (1.435 mm/ 4 ft 8.5 in) along the entirety of its track. The minimal radius curve for AV lines is higher than normal, with the minimal radii at 4,000 m (13,100 ft); the latest line have minimal radii as large as 8.4 km (27,600 ft). Due to the tractive power of AV rolling stock, steeper gradients can be achieved. On the AV Alduria, gradients go up to 4%.
Track alignments is straighter than on normal railway lines, with heavier ballasts at 60 kg/m and more track sleepers made from 2.42 concrete blocks with metal strut reinforcements, with 1740 sleepers per km. Instead of shorter jointed rails, AV lines utilise continuously welded rails at 254 m in length.
Track switches are also different on AV lines, utilising the swingnose crossing that eliminates shock and vibration from wheels passing conventional points.
The diameter of tunnels is larger than required for the size of trains, especially at entrances. This reduces air pressure changes and noise pollution such as tunnel boom, which is dangerous at higher speeds.
Track limitations
AV lines are reserved primarily for AV trains. This is due to the fact that capacity is greatly diminished with trains of mixed speeds. This is especially important with cargo trains, which can be destabilised by air turbulence effects caused by high-speed trains.
Maintenance on the AV lines is carried out at night, when no trains are running.
Power supply
AV lines are all electrified at 25 KV AC, 50 Hz. Caternaries on AV lines are stronger than normal lines, with more mechanical tension to prevent oscillations. On trains, only the rear pantograph is raised, to prevent oscillations from the front pantograph. In double-linked train sets, the distance is sufficient to allow both the front and rear pantograph to be raised.
Separation
The entirety of AV tracks are fenced off to prevent trespassing by animals and people. Level crossings are not permitted, and overbridges carry sensors to detect debris. All AV junctions are grade-separated, the tracks crossing each other using flyovers or tunnels, eliminating crossings on the same level.
Stations
Most of the AV lines start and end on conventional. This makes connecting city centre stations such as Cárdenas Grande Unión and Punta Santiago Central by AV a simple and cost-effective solution, using existing intra-city tracks and stations built for conventional trains.
Outside of city centres, AV lines use intermediate stations, either in suburban areas, or several kilometers away from cities in the open countryside. This allows the track to maintain effective straight curves, and allows AV trains to stop without incurring too great a time penalty, since more time is spent on high-speed track. In some cases, stations are built between two communities, such as the Ponte Blanc station between Lares and Fontainebleau.
Several new railway stations have been built for AV lines, some of which are an archiectural marvel. Rimarima Pueblo, opened in 1710 AN, has been generally regarded as one of the most famous stations on the network, due to its massive 280 m (544 ft)-long glass dome somewhat akin to a stadium roof.
Network
In 1734 AN, there was approximately 700 km (440 mi) of AV track, with four additional line sections under construction. The current lines and those under construction are separated by their geographical location, either in Keltia, Alduria, or Lyrica:
- Keltia: AV Keltia, AV Costa a Costa, AV New Caputia, and AV Valencia
- Alduria: AV Alduria, AV A Campo Traviesa
- Lyrica: AV Lyrica
Existing Lines
- AV Keltia (Cárdenas to Parap, Judah and Santiago), the first AV line (opened 1710 AN)
- AV Alduria (Punta Santiago to Beauharnais and Alkhiva) (opened 1714 AN)
- AV Lyrica (Beaufort to Lausanne) (opened 1734 AN)
| Line | Connected cities/stations | Opened | Operating speed
(max) |
Type of trains |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keltia | ||||
| AV Keltia | Santiago * Cárdenas * Rimarima | 1710 AN | 320 km/h (199 mph) | TR HS300, TR HS320 |
| Western Branch: * Apurimaq * San Luis | 1714 AN | 320 km/h (199 mph) | ||
| Westernmost Branch: Sucre * Judah | 1716 AN | 320 km/h (199 mph) | ||
| Alduria | ||||
| AV Alduria | Punta Santiago * Narbonne * Gramercy | 1714 AN | 320 km/h (199 mph) | TR HS320 |
| Northern Branch: Amapola | 1720 AN | 320 km/h (199 mph) | ||
| Northernmost Branch: Tudela * Alkhiva | 1734 AN | 320 km/h (199 mph) | ||
| Lyrica | ||||
| AV Lyrica | Beaufort * Montchèry * Carrasquillo | 1734 AN | 320 km/h (199 mph) | TR HS320 |
Under Construction
Under the National Plan for Infrastructure, Alte Velocidad Vision 1740 is the flagship program for creating new high-speed rail lines across the three continents that Nouvelle Alexandrie has territory in. These five lines were confirmed in 1729 AN, with the first, AV Lyrica, being completed on schedule in 1734 AN.
- AV Costa a Costa (Wechuhuasi-Potosí-Hato Rey-Puerto Carrillo) (opening in 1740 AN)
- AV New Caputia (San Luis-Ravaillac-Corcovado) (opening in 1735 AN)
- AV Valencia (Santiago-Chambéry) (opening in 1735 AN)
- AV A Campo Traviesa (Punta Santiago-Carrillo-Villalba-Kerman) (opening in 1740 AN)
Planned lines
Negotiations are currently still ongoing with Constancia regarding the creation of a high-speed connection from either Beauharnais to Astérapolis; or from Kerman to Port Aguilar. Due to the outbreak of the Surenid Civil War and the involvement of the Raspur Pact, these negotiations were suspended indefinitely.
- Alexandrian-Constantine AV Link (Beauharnais-Astérapolis) (on hold)
Travel times
The table shows minimum travel times between cities with direct high-speed trains.
| Cárdenas | Rimarima | Parap | San Luis | Judah | Santiago | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keltia | ||||||
| Cárdenas | - | 1:10 | 2:40 | 2:50 | 3:50 | 0:50 |
| Rimarima | 1:10 | - | 1:30 | 1:40 | 2:40 | 2:00 |
| Parap | 2:40 | 1:30 | - | 2:40 | 3:40 | 3:30 |
| San Luis | 2:50 | 1:40 | 2:40 | - | 1:00 | 3:40 |
| Judah | 3:50 | 2:40 | 3:40 | 1:00 | - | 4:40 |
| Santiago | 0:50 | 2:00 | 3:30 | 3:40 | 4:40 | - |
| Alduria | ||||||
| Punta Santiago | Narbonne | Beauharnais | Amapola | Tudela | Alkhiva | |
| Punta Santiago | - | 0:20 | 2:40 | 0:45 | 1:20 | 2:00 |
| Narbonne | 0:20 | - | 2:10 | 1:15 | 1:40 | 2:20 |
| Beauharnais | 2:40 | 2:10 | - | 3:35 | 4:00 | 4:40 |
| Amapola | 0:45 | 1:05 | 3:25 | - | 0:35 | 1:15 |
| Tudela | 1:20 | 1:40 | 4:00 | 0:35 | - | 0:40 |
| Alkhiva | 2:00 | 2:20 | 4:40 | 1:15 | 0:40 | - |
| Alduria | ||||||
| Beaufort | Montchèry | Carrasquillo | Lausanne | |||
| Beaufort | - | 0:45 | 1:40 | 2:30 | - | |
| Montchèry | 0:45 | - | 0:55 | 1:45 | ||
| Carrasquillo | 1:40 | 0:55 | - | 0:50 | ||
| Lausanne | 2:30 | 1:45 | 0:50 | - | ||
Operations
All AV lines utilise the TR HS300 or HS320 rolling stock, built by Tránsito Rápido. A total of 120 units of these EMU high-speed trains service the network, usually in 8 or 10-car configurations. The NAR Alte Velocidad runs two styles of trains: Express lines only stop on major hubs along the stations, bypassing intermediate stations (for example, Maria Zombrano, linking Sucre), which provides the fastest service between major termini and city centres; and the slower Regional, which stops on both termini and intermediate stations. Due to the capacity on AV lines, and the high-speed nature of these services, which require higher headways for security and efficiency, trains run at 2 tph on weekdays (1 tph Express and 1 tph Regional), while running only 1 tph Regional trains on weekends and after 20:00. Between 6:00 and 8:00 and 18:00 and 20:00 on weekdays, AV lines run 1 tph Alivio (Relief) trains, that act as Regional services, to supplement peak-hour capacity, with 20 minutes headspace.
