Alduria High Speed Line

Alduria High Speed Line
Overview
Type	High-speed rail
Locale	Nouvelle Alexandrie
Stations	5
Ridership	26,185,000 (1725 AN)
Operation
Operator(s)	Nouvelle Alexandrie Railways
Depot(s)	Narbonne
Rolling stock	TR HS320
Number of tracks	2
Route map

Alduria HS (AV Alduria), legally the Punta Santiago-Beauharnais Rail Link (EFPSB) is a 320 km (200 mi) high-speed railway linking Punta Santiago, Narbonne, and Beauharnais. It was the second high-speed line in Nouvelle Alexandrie, after the Keltian High Speed. The inauguration of the first section, between Punta Santiago and Beauharnais, was in 1714 AN. This shortened journey time between these two cities to less than 30 minutes. The station at Ponte Blanc came in 1718 AN, and the extension to Amapola in 1720 AN. There are plans to expand the line to Tudela and Alkhiva, known as AV Alduria Phase 2.

Route

The line crosses most of the West Coast of Alduria.

The system is compatible with the regular rail network, sharing track around existing train stations, such as the dense urban areas in Punta Santiago and Narbonne.

The distance from Punta Santiago to Beuharnais is 264 km. The high-speed line allows a more direct route between the two stations through important tunnels and bridges, such as the vital Narbonne Northern Portal, making the route 84 km shorter than the regular line. There are other tunnels: the Gramercy South Tunnel, south of Gramercy, and the Olivia Suarez Tunnel east of Beauharnais.

There are two stops used by service trains to divert passengers to existing city center stations:

• at Ponte Blanc, towards Fontainebleau and Lares
• at Porte de Gramercy, towards Gramercy

The line runs next to the C2 motorway for 45 km (28 mi).

Line details

The line uses standard gauge (1.435 mm/ 4 ft 8.5 in) for the entirety of its track. Platforms are 15 m (50 ft) wide, with space between track centres of 4.5 m (15ft). The line was designed for a nominal speed of 350 km/h (220 mph), with a minimum radius curve of 5,400 m (17,800 ft).

The track is double for the entirety of the track. It is formed by 60 kg/m (40.5 lb/ft) rails placed in 254 m (839 ft) lengths, welded in place. The track sleepers are 2.42 m (8 ft) concrete blocks with metal strut reinforcements. There are 1740 sleeps per kilometre.

Traction power is supplied by four substations at 25 kV AC, 50 Hz. The caternary is an inverted phase "feeder" cable, with trainsets power drawing limits set at 10 MW.

Signalling is performed by high-frequency track circuits. There are also lineside marker boards indicating limits of each block sections.

Stations

The AV Alduria serves the following stations:

• Amapola
• Punta Santiago Central
• Narbonne Central
• Porte de Gramercy
• Ponte Blanc
• Beauharnais Terminal

In the future, it will serve:

• Tudela Miragoz
• Alkhiva Costa

Costs

Item	Cost, nomimal (in €)
Construction of superstructure and infrastructure	4.5 billion
Land purchase & tunnelling	0.2 billion
Rolling stock	2.8 billion
Total	7.5 billion

The AV Alduria Phase 2 will cost €2.4 billion.

History

• 01.XI.1708 AN: NAR research launches project AV2, titled 'High-Speed Rail for Western Alduria'
• 15.III.1710 AN: new line project approved by Department of Civil Works and Transportation
• 10.V.1710 AN: work commences at Punta Santiago with AV Link Flyover Junction
• 08.VIII.1710 AN: first rails laid near Narbonne
• 12.X.1714 AN: track laying end in Beauharnais
• 24.XI.1714 AN: first testing drives on the line between Narbonne and Punta Santiago
• 10.XIII.1714 AN: inauguration of the first section (Punta Santiago to Beauharnais) opened by King Manco Cápac
• 14.XIII.1714 AN: commercial service begins
• 22.IV.1718 AN: opening of Ponte Blanc Station
• 08.X.1720 AN: service begins on northern section (Punta Santiago to Amapola)
• 02.III.1729 AN: NAR research launches project AVA Phase 2

See also

• Rail transport in Nouvelle Alexandrie
• Nouvelle Alexandrie Railways
• Keltian High Speed
• Trans-Euran Railway