Centreburg Metro

The Centreburg Metro, usually shortened to the Met, is a rapid transit system that is one of the major components of Centreburg's railway network, the other being the Centreburg Commuter Railway Network. It is the country's second-busiest subway system after the Solando Métropolitain, carrying over 1.8 million commuters on a daily basis. Alongside the CCRN, the bus network and the city's ferry system, it is an integral part of the city's public transport system, helping to alleviate congestion and provide a direct link for commuters transiting from the commuter rail network to the city centre.

Opened in 1972 after more than 5 years' of construction work, the network was Corraile's first rail-based transit network to be completely underground, reducing the network's footprint in the crowded city centre, as well as helping to avoid the congestion on the surface that the city's pre-existing tram network had to endure. Today, the system has 87 stations currently in operation and some 100.8 miles (162.3km) of track, and continues to expand with the construction of 3 lines intended the directly connect inner suburban areas to the city centre.

Initial development
The Centreburg Metro began as a concept for the replacement of the Centreburg tram system in the 1960s. As the city centre became increasingly crowded, the streets within the city became increasingly gridlocked as well. Such traffic conditions severely hampered the efficiency of the tram system, for the tram system shared the roads with other road traffic such as private vehicles and buses. In order to combat this problem, the Centreburg Municipal Council (now the Centreburg City Government) decided to pursue the development of an alternative rail-based network with grade separation from other traffic.

In 1965, initial studies began for the creation of a subway system that would encompass 2 lines, criss-crossing the entire downtown region and crossing the Bay of Centreburg to connect both the Westlane and Mainland sections of the city. However, for reasons of cost, this initial proposal was scaled down to the development of just one line, running from Channing Shore at the city's most westerly point and terminating at Beaufort in the eastern reaches of the downtown region. This was due to the fact that at that point in time, the proposed grade-separated rail line was considered merely as an extension of the city's existing tram network, and would not be a completely different network in it's own right. By moving the tram network along this proposed line to a dedicated thoroughfare, it was hoped that it would free up valuable road space that would otherwise have been taken up by the trams. On December 6, 1966, the Municipal Council was satisfied with the proposal and the project was finally given the green light.

Elevated vs. Underground
Although the proposal for the grade-separated "tram extension" was approved, it was unclear in stating whether this grade-separation would be achieved by the construction of an underground or an elevated rail line. In January 1967, at a Municipal Council meeting to discuss funding and development of the new line, there was disagreement between Council members over the nature of the rail line extension, with a significant minority of the Council voting to build the line underground. Then-Mayor of Centreburg and head of the Municipal Council Geoffrey Adkins, supported the development of a subterranean system, arguing:


 * "there simply isn't enough space for the development of an above-ground system here in Centreburg. Any cost-saving that they say would come about from the pursuit of an elevated system would simply disappear from the extra we would have to spend to even acquire the rights-of-way and to ensure that the trains can operate safely in such an urban area at all."

After months of discussion within the Municipal Council and subsequent changes to the finalised proposal, it was finally agreed upon that the new line would be built underground, and separated from the tram system since it was expected that the traffic handled by the line would be far more heavy than the tram system would have been able to handle, even with a dedicated line. This meant that the line was finally recognised as a system independent from the tram system, and was later officially called the Centreburg Metro System.

Construction and inital launch


The permission to begin the construction of the city's then-largest public works project was given in June 1967. A ground-breaking ceremony commenced the construction on 26 August 1967 at Herald Street, near the present day location of Skyline station. The work was expected to be completed by May 1974, and would involve the construction of the 29-km long East-West line, along with it's 14 stations. In 1971, the project fell under the domain of the Government of Corraile, which included it as one of the key projects listed under the Centreburg Plan. This resulted in the release of central Government funds to help complete the project, which meant that work on the project could be completed ahead of time. By December 1972, the line had been completed and was already undergoing test runs, just as the central Government approved the construction of the Trans-bay Line, which was the other line in the original 1966 proposal.

On 1 March 1973, after exhaustive testing of the system, the Metro was opened to the public. The novelty resulted in thousands flocking to the newly-completed line just to experience and try out the system, which ran only initially between Centreburg Central and Beaufort due to technical difficulties at Channing Shore, the original western terminus of the line. In the first week of operations the system drew more than 100,000 commuters, most of which were there to try the system out and not to use it on a regular basis.

Further development
The system continued to expand rapidly after the opening of the first East-West line in 1973. In 1977, the first stage of the Trans-Bay Line, running from Downtown Park North to Waterway Plaza, opened, connecting the system to Westlane and providing an alternative route for commuters crossing the Bay. The opening of the Trans-Bay Line also coincided with the official opening of the System by then-Prime Minister Sir Darren McGhurry, who hailed the system as "a great achievement in the creation of a new, modern Corraile".

In 1981, the opening of the South Bay line, and the extension of the East-West Line to Inner Bay marked the last major expansion of the Metro network for more than a decade.

Privatisation and modern development
Up until 1990, the system was run by the Centreburg Metropolitan Transit Authority (CMTA), which was administered jointly by the Centreburg City Government and the Ministry of Transport in the central Government. In order to further improve the quality of services as well as better serve the needs of commuters, both Governments made plans for the eventual privatisation of the network by means of a tender-based system, where the City Government would maintain ownership of the infrastructure while rolling stock and services would be run by a prvate organisation. Privatisation was announced on March 21 1990, just as plans for three new lines were announced.

The privatisation tenders were held between June 1990 and October 1990, and the results were announced on January 1 the next year, with CMC granted the rights to operate both the East-West Line and the Trans-Bay Line while the South Bay Line would be operated by ConnexCentreburg. The operations of the subway network was handed over to the respective companies on June 11 1991, and the CMTA was formally dissolved that same day.

The three newly announced lines were completed by the end of 1998:


 * The Inner Westlane Line was completed and in service by 16 December 1993
 * The Outer Westlane Line was inaugurated two years later, on 22 January 1995.
 * The most recent completion, the North Bay Line, was opened on 2 June 1998.

Stations and facilities
There are generally two generations of station designs that exist throughout the Centreburg Metro. The initial station layout, known as the Generation 1 layout, was designed to ensure the one-directional flow of commuters through the station. This meant that there were separate exits and entrances that were all one-directional, and commuter traffic would flow from one end of the platform to another, thus preventing the rise of bottlenecks within the station and easing human congestion during peak hours. However, the stations suffered from a low designed capacity, since it was not expected that the network would handle over 1 million commuters. However, this milestone was passed in 2004, leading to overcrowding at these generation 1 stations, which are found on lines built prior to 1990 (East-West Line, Trans-Bay Line except for the North bay extension and the South Bay Line). Today, expansion works are being carried out at these stations to increase the width of exits and entrances such as to reduce bottlenecks.

Generation 2 stations are the more recent generation of stations, being built in tandem with the line expansion of the 1990s. These stations have a centralised ticketing area, unlike the earlier generation which separated entering and exiting traffic. Furthermore, these stations also contained disabled-friendly facilities such as lifts, stair-lifts, wider ticket gantries, and have also been designed to incorporate wider staircases and escalators to further maximise efficiency and human flow.

Every station is equipped with ticketing machines, a Passenger Service and Train Control Centre, and LCD displays that show train service information and announcements. All stations are equipped with restrooms and payphones. Some stations, especially the major ones, have additional amenities and services, such as retail shops and kiosks, supermarkets, convenience stores, automatic teller machines, and self-service automated kiosks for a variety of services. Heavy-duty escalators at stations carry passengers up or down at a rate of 0.75 m/s, 50% faster than conventional escalators.

Depots


The Centreburg Metro currently has 3 major depots, which are used by both train operators. The Centreburg Central Railway Depot is the largest of the the three, and was also the first to be completed alongside the East-West Line in 1973. It is the central maintenance depot with train overhaul and washing facilities, and is used by both the subway network and the commuter rail network. Centreburg Central Railway Station's Metro station, as well as Channing Shore station and Downtown Park South station have a third middle platform to allow off-duty trains to stop before heading to the depot. The North Westlane Depot was constructed later, in 1981, to accommodate the growing fleet of trains which served on the Trans-Bay Line, as well as in anticipation of the later expansion of the system into Westlane. It currently houses trains operating on the Trans-Bay Line, and the Inner and Outer Westlane Lines. The North Bay depot, between Futura Avenue and Base Road stations, was contrcuted in tandem with the North Bay Line, and is used as a depot for that particular line as well as some Trans-Bay Line trains. All depots of the Metro are underground.

New depots will be built in Beaufort and South Westlane for the new expansion of the Centreburg Metro. The Beaufort depot is expected to augment the Centreburg Central Railway Depot as the network's major train overhaul and servicing facility and serve as a depot for East-West Line trains as well as the future North-South Line and Inner Bay South Line, while the South Westlane depot will serve as the depot for the South Westlane Line.

Expansion
The opening of the South Bay Line in 1981 meant the completion of the original 3 lines as laid out in the 1971 Centreburg plan. For more than a decade, these three lines formed the entirety of the network, completely replacing the city's tram network in 1980 and augmenting the city's commuter rail network, which served as a tributary system to the Metro by bringing in commuters from the outer suburban areas into the city to be distributed by the Metro system itself. However, the removal of the tram network from Westlane, and the subsequent development of a new downtown in Centreburg in the Northern Bay area meant that expansion of the system was required. As part of a new government proposal for the further development of mass transit options in the city, three new lines were announced to fill the void left by the ending of tram services in North Westlane and to serve the new downtown region. These expansions were completed by 1998. Today, three new expansion projects, meant to expand the network's reach and to ease North-South connectivity within the city, are under construction.

Inner Bay South Line
Currently in various stages of construction, the 22.8-kilometre Inner Bay South Line passing through 17 stations will connect the western edge of the city centre to the inner suburban regions along the bay of Centreburg. It connects directly to both the East-West Line and the South Bay Line at Beaufort station, and can be considered as an extension of the South Bay Line. However, it will be run as a separate line altogether, and is slated for opening in mid-2015.

South Westlane Line
Also under construction, the 31.2-kilometre South Westlane Line, with 20 stations, will provide the South Westlane area with a direct Metro connection to North Westlane, giving South Westlane it's first rail connection to the city. It connects with the existing Inner and Outer Westlane Lines at Bayport, and is expected to alleviate congestion between South Westlane and the Centreburg Downtown Region.

North-South Line
The North South Line, currently in the initial stages of construction, will provide an alternate Metro connection between the Southern and Northern regions of the city centre, and connect Bayport directly to the mainland at Inner Bay and Beaufort. It will connect all existing Metro lines, except for the Trans-Bay Line, meeting the Inner and Outer Westlane Lines at Bayport, the South Bay and East-West Lines at Beaufort and the North Bay Line at Sanderson Avenue, the line's northern terminus. When completed, it will be the system's longest line, at 36.9km (22.9mi) and will consist of 12 stations.

Fares


Despite the fact that the Metro system is run by private, for-profit organisations, Metro fares are set by the City Government's Transport Department. Fares are revised by the City Government every five years, with input from both operators of the Metro system, and are distance-based, with a flat fare being set per kilometre travelled. Fares are paid using electronic stored-value cards, the fares calculated based on the distance between the start and destination stations. Additional value can be purchased at ticketing machines found in all Metro stations, which also sell single-trip tickets valid only for the day of purchase. After use, these single-trip tickets can be returned to a ticketing machine for a partial refund of 20% of the fare, capped at CR$1.

Fares for the network are standard across the board, applying to the lines operated by both operators. Integration of the fare system by the City Government means that commuters are only required to pay once for travel on the system, even when transferring across lines operated by different operators, although there is a transfer fee of CR$1.50 incurred while doing so. Commuters can choose to extend a trip mid-journey, and pay the difference when they exit their destination station.

Ticketing


The ticketing system uses the TransPass contactless smart cards, which can also be used on all other forms of Centreburgian mass transit. The TransPass card was introduced on 7 December 2003 as a replacement for the original Metro Farecard, a magnetic-stripe based stored-value card, becoming the first cross-platform payment system for Centreburg's mass transit network.

An adult TransPass may be bought for CR$20, inclusive of a CR$12 non-refundable card cost and a CR$8 credit. The card may be obtained at any Metro Passenger Service and Train Control Centre or TransPass dispensing machines found throughout the city. Additional credit may be purchased at any Metro ticketing machine, Passenger Service and Train Control Centre, and through certain Automated Teller Machines. The TransPass system also allows for a debit system of fare payment, where the card does not need to be topped up but deducts directly from a linked bank account. However, this service is available with a monthly fee of CRD$2.

A Standard Ticket contactless smart card for single trips may also be purchased between CR$3 and CR$5 (inclusive of a CR$1 refundable card deposit) for the payment of Metro and CCRN fares. The card may be purchased only at the ticketing machine. The deposit may also be retrieved by returning the card to the ticketing machine within 30 days from the date of issue or donated to charity by depositing it in a collection box at any station. This card cannot be recharged with additional credit.

Safety and Security


Various campaigns and activities are taken to help ensure that the Metro is a safe system to travel on. Poster campaigns displaying information on topics such as escalator safety are a common sight in all stations, and announcements are made regularly as safety reminders to travelling passengers. Bylaws were also introduced to deter potentially dangerous actions on the Metro, such as the ban on flammable goods on the train and rushing into trains when the doors are closing. Also, smoking, eating and drinking in subway trains and platforms are prohibited, and offenders are liable for penalties such as fines and long-term bans on the usage of the metro system. Such bylaws are enforced by the Centreburg Transit Police, who are responsible for the safety and security of the Metro system and it's commuters.

In May 2011, the City Government announced plans to introduce platform screen doors throughout the entire network, in response to rising levels of accidents in the System where people were severely injured or killed when hit by an oncoming train after falling off the platform. The first sets of platform screen doors were installed at the Centreburg Central Railway Station Metro station, the busiest Metro station throughout the system, and all existing lines are expected to be fully retrofitted with the screen doors by early 2014. All new lines currently under construction will have screen doors included during the construction phase.

Recorded announcements are frequently made to remind passengers to report suspicious activity and not to leave their belongings unattended. Digital closed-circuit cameras (CCTVs) have been upgraded with recording-capability at all stations and trains operating throughout the Metro system, and live-feed CCTV is also used to monitor passenger traffic movements for any suspicious activity or individual. Trash bins and mail boxes have been removed from station platforms and concourse levels to station entrances, to eliminate the risk of bombs being placed in them. Photography without permission was also banned in all Metro stations since the Madrid bombings, but it was not in the official statement in any public transport security reviews.

Downtown Park South collision
On 7 November 1980, a south-bound train operating on the Trans-Bay Line collided with an east-bound East-West Line train just outside the Downtown Park South Metro station, resulting in 44 casualties, or which 10 were serious. An investigation into the cause of the accident revealed that the track switches outside the station had been left unadjusted prior to the arrival of the Trans-Bay Line, which resulted in the arriving Trans-Bay train entering the east-bound track of the East-West Line, where the east-bound train was about to depart. The incident resulted in more stringent procedures governing the management of signalling systems in the Metro network.

1997 Waterway Plaza station shootings
On March 22 1997, a lone gunman entered Waterway Plaza station at around 12.13pm, during the lunchtime rush hour, and using a Glock 18 pistol, opened fire at commuters in the ticket concourse of the station, killing 2 and injuring 17 commuters, before fatally shooting himself in the head. Police and emergency services arrived 5 minutes later, and the casualties were immediately rushed to hospital. The gunman was revealed to be Michael Rowland, a disgruntled police officer who was dishonourably discharged from the Centrburg Police Force. The incident led to much increased police presence in all Metro stations and calls for tighter gun control laws throughout the country.