Velwythe

An agreement between Count Iseman of FreePort and Judge Emmril of the Fourth District in Alpine has finally been made to build the first continuous railline connecting the two cities. This line will not only change the very way Atla trades goods with the rest of the world, but will break many rail records, some of which have stood since the very first line was laid 25 years ago. It is being called the first ‘high speed’ railline.

The new railline will be the longest continual stretch of track in the world. It will start from the Fourth District in Alpine and travel west across the entire province of FreePort. The line will travel down the cliffs of Gent and will exit from the tunnel started four years ago by Count Iseman (long before negotiations for this line had begun). Its termination will be in the northern portion of the Industrial district of FreePort with a stop planned in the university district as well. Without any stops along the way (all new rail will be used partly to avoid forced stops at existing stations) the journey will take less than half the time it would have if there was a line already in place (initial estimates say as few as 6 hours).

What makes this new line so unique and the cause of the nearly instant inferno of speculation and news is that both the rail and cart are entirely new designs, designs which will require a huge changes to Alpine city and FreePort city. While details are almost non-existent regarding the new design, Belinda Zabriskie, the lead engineer from the Silent Light corporation in charge of building the railline, said the major innovation will be in the way the energy of the operators is transferred into the track couplings themselves.

“Before, the magnetic couplings which hovered above the raillines were so small and inefficient that it took almost 35% of an operator’s energy to overcome the waste.” When asked about the specifics of the design, Zabriskie said this. “Part of what makes this so unique is the material and method of creating the couplings. Unfortunately these are all quite closely guarded secrets. We can tell you though, that the couplings will be no less than twice the size of those in use today.”

While the planned completion for the project is still many years away (255EM) work has already begun. Zabriskie is working with a team from Silent Light in Alpine city at the moment.

Though the construction of the line has already begun in Alpine, Silent Light is fearful to begin work in FreePort until enough of the line from Alpine has been laid to make the project’s completion necessary.

For more than three years, the last attempt at a Railline that would connect the Valley of Gent with the rest of Atla has gone untouched. Protests and hostility towards Count Iseman of FreePort as well as the construction crews grew so severe that Iseman canceled the project fearing for the workers (and his own) safety. The last the city of FreePort heard of a railline through the cliffs of Gent was when Iseman announced the project would be permanently canceled. Word of the project has not yet reached the Valley of Gent and according to Zabriskie, and Iseman has no plans of revealing the information despite the fact that crews are already on their way to the site.

—29th of Steyman