Railways in Kingston and Boyce

The rail transport system in Kingston and Boyce consists of 11,492 km of railway lines. All railway tracks in Kingston are electrified. Most traffic is passenger trains, although the coastline routes as well as the trans country routes experience high volumes of freight traffic.

Most of the Passenger services are executed by Kingston Royal Rails. The Freight traffic is mostly operated by KRR, but there are also many private companies like Pacifica Rails or Burlington Central on the tracks.

Kingston and Boyce is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Kingston is 37.

Management
Although there are quite a few private operators on the tracks, all railway tracks in Kingston and Boyce are maintained by Kingston Royal Rails.

Ever since the introduction of the Railway Regrouping Act, there are eight different sorts of trains in Kingston. 42% of the railway services are on the main routes between the main cities. All other rail services take place on side routes. The Main Routes feature two high speed tracks equipped for 320kph and usually two or three tracks used for RegioXPress and RegioRunners services and freight rails. These slower tracks meander through the surrounding region around the High Speed lines. Outside towns and stations, most tracks are equipped for 160kph. Inside the large towns, track speeds are at a maximum of 120kph, although most downtown routes are only equipped for 60kph.

Rolling Stocks
On the tracks of the country, there are 895 locomotives and 3267 Electrical Multiple Units.

Capital Range Line

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The Capital Range Line is the second most used railway route in the country. The Route begins just south of Boyce Central Station, with a special double track line equipped for 320kph. Four other tracks, of which are two designated for freight traffic, meander around the almost straight High Speed line. Notable buildings along the way are the three railway bridges of Flaggshap, connecting the Old Town with the rest of the city. The CityExpress does however not stop in Flaggshap, as it is off the route and a stop would not be economical.

Two Freight tracks follow the regional route for most parts, connecting the main freight yards in Richmond, Rim and North Columbia. This Freight Route is the second most used freight route of the country, connecting the capital cities to the large ports in the East and South.

Passenger Services are regularly on the line, with four major Regional Lines sharing the route. Three of the Four Regional Services are operated by Kingston Royal Rails. The Fourth line is Operated by Leo Express, a private Railway Operator, however they service for Kingston Royal Rails, stopping at Boyce Airport, Flaggshap and Rim, as well as the city of Morgan every second hour.

Other than the regional services, High Speed Rails services use the high speed tracks of the route, such as the PanAmExpress or the CityExpress. This Route is a mostly straight route equipped for 300kph, and probably the most important traffic route of the country.


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Trans Range Line


The Trans Range Line between New Berlin and Columbia is a short, yet very crowded railway route, desperately waiting for expansion. The Route between the the two cities is the merger of two main City Express routes, the one between St. Petri and Portland and the route between the Capital Cities and Port Ruppert. The Four track Route sees all kinds of passenger services. However freight trains are banned on this route, as they are not allowed to go faster than 120kph which is too slow for the high density route. The freight trains use a side route between North Columbia and Francfort, then join the main route on a fifth track until siding out in a large yard in Colonia. The Colonia freight yard is the largest freight yard in Kingston and Boyce.

The Main Station of New Berlin is a major railway junction for all sorts of passenger services. From here, three major CityExpress lines side out to Port Ruppert, Ross and Portland. Further, the New Berlin Central Station is terminus point for the Port Ruppert Linkway and for several local RegioRunner routes. Of those RegioRunner routes, the R76 is the most famous one. For 76km, it follows the valley of the Bailey River, up until Kaatsbrook. It is one of the few worldwide train routes to be awarded the world heritage status by the UNESCO.



Southern Passage
The Southern Passage is the third most used train route in Kingston and Boyce and connects the cities of Columbia and Portland via New Berlin. The Route is a four to six track route, in the usual usage: High Speed Rail equipped for 250kph, Regional rails for 160kph and for most parts of the route a double track freight line between Colonia and Portland Harbour. The most notable object on this route is the St. Martin Tunnel, the longest railway tunnel in Kingston and Boyce. It crosses the Hanley Range on a length of 14.32km and is at its deepest point 1,760m below the surface. The Regional Route follows the valley of the Darya River for a while until it connects with the High Speed Route at Uitveiler. For the next 70km, the route is pretty much boring, cutting through large and flat agricultural fields. Following the Portland satellite of Hutchingson, the Passenger trains enter the North Portland Tunnel, joined by the Manchester Citylink. The Airport Station of Portland marks the end of that 9.34km long tunnel, when Passenger Services hit the surface again to make their ways into Portland's famous double-hall Central Station.



Morningland Route
The Morningland Route connects the cities of Portland and Port Ruppert, along the so called Morningland Coast. This Route is mainly used by High Speed trains, and has only few importance to freight rail. The regional route is however very scenic, following the shore of the Shatt Inlet. The High Speed Line does not follow the contours of the coast, and spans over the whole coastline park on the 34km long Shatt Island HSR Viaduct, which also is the largest transportation structure in the country. The 1997 constructed viaduct is a three-track bridge allowing speeds up to 320kph and was once designed by Kingstonaise star architect Jonas Hamilton.

Up until 1965, this route was the main freight line of the country, from Portland's harbours into the yards of Cape Shatt, where the Marine and Coast guards used to have their bases and wharfs, employing thousands of people. In 1965, those wharfs were abandoned resulting in the rails not being needed anymore. Railway tracks were deconstructed or simply left to rust. Now, only wide fallows show the former extends of these rail yards. Only few spaces of these yards have been reused for industry or commercial buildings.



Northern Runway
The Northern Runway is the most scenic main railway route of the country, connecting the cities along the coastline between Ste. Anne and Port Ruppert. This route is a double track route mainly for passenger services. Only two CityExpress lines run along this route, making a special track High Speed line unnecessary. Freight services are only occurring between St Petri and Ross, and on that part on a mostly extra track. The route has its primary focus on regional services, with 4 RegioXPress lines and 6 RegioRunners sharing the route.

The Route is equipped for speed of only 160kph, and due to short curves, the speed limit is often even below that. Between Ste. Anne and St Petri, the route follows a mostly direct way, cutting through fields and small towns and villages. Just west of St. Petri, the route is joined by the Blue Creek Side Route and passes the large fishing ports of the city and the large container yards. East of St. Petri, the route follows the Coastline, always caught between the slopes of the Northern Range Mountains and the shoreline. In Ross, the line joins the Central Runway from New Berlin, now the route straightens out and speeds up to 160kph are allowed into Port Ruppert, passing the Airport.

The Route terminates at Port Ruppert's Central Station, which is the second largest railway station of the country. The sidings and maintenance yards prior to Port Ruppert's station however make up for the largest railway area of the country.



Northern Capital Line
The Northern Capital Line is one of the lesser used Main Routes of the country. It origins in the Capital Cities and then quickly finds its way to the western coastline. Northernly of Loudvigsveld, the two branches of the route, one from Kingston and one from Boyce, meet and form a four track route. Freight traffic is quite important on this route, serving the industrial districts of the Capital Cities. The Route itself follows the coastline for most of the route, allowing mediocre speeds at 140kph. There is only one CityExpress line using these tracks, so an extra-built route is not needed.

Until Evander Fields respectively Kingston Dockyards, the Route shares its tracks with the Kingston and Boyce S-Lines. Then however, quickly leaves the suburban settlements into the wide fields and forests of the Western Capital Peninsula. This Route is equipped with only ancient security technologies, making it impossible for trains to reach speeds higher than 140kph. Many level crossings also interfere with higher speeds. It takes 65 minutes for a CityExpress to complete the 73km route without stopping. In the old Farmer's market city of Loudvigsveld, the route passes large freight yards and container sidings.



Northern Passage
The Northern Passage is the connecting leg between Columbia and St. Petri. The route crosses the mountains of the Northern Range, demanding tight curves and many tunnels. In Fact, on no other route in Kingston and Boyce, there are so many tunnels per km, averaging at 1.2/km. Leaving Columbia through the large freight trackage of North Columbia, the route quickly finds its way into the mountains, passing and crossing hills and steep cliffs. Between Fribourg and St Petri, the route follows the Valley of the Luxa River.

The Route is used mainly as a freight route, as a part of the Passageway from St. Petri to Portland, connecting the two largest harbours of the country. Passenger services are not as notable, and only three passenger services run along the route.



Central Runway
The Central Runway connects the cities of Columbia and Port Ruppert via New Berlin. Between New Berlin and Port Ruppert the line is joined by the tracks of the Port Ruppert Linkway, making the Line 3 of the network the longest commuter railway line in North America.

The High Speed Rail line allows 250kph on a mainly straight route, with many tunnels and bridges to span over the valleys and hills. Most notable building on this route is the 4.45km long Georgenbrugge spanning over the three valleys of the Maine River. West of New Berlin the route is following the tracks of the Trans Range Line into Columbia.

The Route is of grand importance to freight rail as it is the most important connection of Port Ruppert to the rest of the country. Although most of the heavy industry of the city has been abandoned, there is still the Cranich Motorworks located to the west of the city, one of the most important engine manufacturers of the country. Also the CARTERrail plant of Port Ruppert is located along this route, resulting in many train movements between here and the main plant in Plymouth.

Continental Line
The Continental Line is the connection between Port Ruppert and Port Angeles [LCO] via Wyswater and the Jaques Reichenbach Bridge. It is the most important route in the PanAmExpress network as it is the only railway connection between Kingston and Boyce and Lower Columbia and the rest of the continent. The 22.05km long Jaques Reichenbach Bridge is a masterpiece of architecture, spanning over the whole width of the Alouette Channel.