Line 8 (RT-Metro)
| Line 8 | |
|---|---|
 A Danhduong G800 train at Yago station, the line's northern terminus | |
| Overview | |
| Locale | Gobras City |
| Termini | Yago Jjnov Asraluu Isyee |
| Service | |
| System | Gobras City Metro |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge |
Line 8 is a Gobras City Metro line in Gobras City, Gobrassanya, operated by the RT-Metro Authority. Coloured turquoise on official maps, it serves over 30 stations. It serves over 200 million passengers in 2017. The line runs from Yago in the northeast to Isyee to the southwest, via Jjnov and Capitol South in the downtown. It uses the Danhduong G800 and G801 trains which runs in a six to eight car formation.
Certain sections of the line were already built by private companies, with the Wynot-Jjnov stretch built by the Wynot Railway Company in 1928, and the Jaspee-Isyee stretch built by the Metro East Rail Company in 1922 and operated by the South Isyee Electric Company since 1938. The Wynot line was briefly diverted to Pohalashee Grand via Front in 1935, and was taken over by the Gobras City Rapid Transit Corporation (GRTC) when Wynot was dissolved in 1941. The GRTC completed the new branch to Lhatgaver North extending from Jjnov in 1942. Subsequently, the Marapura line, which extends from Lhtagaver North extension, was constructed and was completed in two stages. The first stage, from Assembly to Khaikeagha, was completed in 1950, followed by a further extension to Marcais in 1955. The line ceased its services to Pohalashee Grand after 1950. It later connected with the Isyee South Rail line, which was acquired by RT-Metro in 1958, by extending the Marapura line to Jaspee in 1959. The Marapura line was given the number Line 8 during the RT-Metro reorganization of lines in the 1960s.
The Grand Safari station closed in 1975 when the Grand Safari entrance was being relocated, and a new infill Yalarah Circle was built as a replacement which also interchanges with Line U. The line went through a facelift in the 1990s, with the addition of barrier-free facilities (such as lifts and tactile tiles) in the stations. Sleepers and the third rail was replaced, and new rolling stocks (the G800 and G801) were purchased to increase passenger capacity on the line, replacing the old Avawoon 88 and 89 stocks. Recently, as of 2014, the line has successfully switched from semi-automatic to fully automated operations, despite many technical difficulties in the trials.
History
Wynot Railway Company
The northern portion of Line 8, from Wynot to Jjnov, was being planned at the start of the 20th century. The Wynot Railway Company, then operating cargo rail services in the northeast, decided to enter the commuter rail monopoly and plan to compete against the government-backed Gobras Rapid Transit Authority (GoRTS). The Wynot company made plans for a rival system serving the east side of the city with connections to the downtown, allying with two other private rail companies in the venture - the Great Keena and Chanyette Railway and the Saehan Construction Company.
While the joint venture managed to obtain funds and permission for the rival system, disagreements arose over the management and finances of the system during the system construction. In 1919, the project was altogether abandoned when the two companies pulled out, although Wynot proceeded to finish the construction of its own lines. The Wynot line from Wynot to Jjnov was successfully completed in 1928, followed by another branch to Galliantia in 1929, which will become Line 4 of the RT-Metro system.
Downtown extensions
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At the same time, the company started to engage with GoRTS on integrating the line with the system. While initially sceptical, in 1926, both managed to come to an agreement to cooperate rather than compete. As a result, the line could be further extended to serve the downtown. The line to Pohalashee, branching off just before the terminating Jjnov station, was approved in 1928 and construction began. The line did not extend from the existing platforms as the terminating end led directly to two entrances above, and the solution was to branch off to a new set of platforms for the branch and end at Pohalashee. The extension was completed on 3 November 1935, much to the jubilation of the northeast residents, who get to connect to the downtown more directly.
Still planning to overcome the difficulty of the extension, it was decided to reconstruct the platforms for the existing station at another level below, while converting the current platform level to a newly expanded ticketing level. With the new platforms on the branch, the reconstruction could proceed without much interruption to the train services. The reconstruction was part of another plan to extend to serve another railway station - Lhatgaver North - and possibly extending past Lynchester North to GSWX along Harley Avenue. However, the company started to face losses due to corruption and poor investments made into other ventures. Forced to cut back its plans to just a two-station extension to Lhatgaver North via Rocktown, the company, unfortunately, had to be liquified and the line was brought over by the GoRTS Corporation (GRTC). The company continued to finish the two-station extension, which began service in 1942.
Marapura extension
The GRTC has envisioned a metro line along Marapura Avenue in its early plans since the 30s, though it was met with scepticism due to the line paralleling the Zoo Line (which will become Line 2). Persuading the government that such a line will complement the existing Zoo Line, the project was approved in 1937, with an allocated budget of US$2 billion. In 1941, the 12 stations on the line were officially announced, from Assembly to Marcais. Planned in tandem with the Convention line (which would run from Convention Centre to GSWX), Lhtagaver North and Assembly nations were planned to be cross-platform interchanges between the two lines. The construction required many road diversions along the busy Marapura Avenue, and businesses had complained about the disruption to their services. Through engagement, it was agreed to revise construction schedules and practices to allow businesses to operate as normal
Expected to open in 1948, the opening was delayed until 1950, when electrical equipment and track materials were delayed upon the dissolution of the company contracted to supply them. The line to Khaikeagha opened on 6 October 1950, followed by the Marcais extension on 7 December 1955. The line was built with cost overruns at US$3.4 billion, and the high budget deficit resulted in delays for construction of other lines and extensions. With the opening of the Marapura Line, services on the Pohalashee branch ceased to reduce costs since the Zoo line already paralleled such a service.
Extension to Isyee
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The Isyee South Rail line was constructed by the Metro East Rail Company (MERC) in 1922, as it expands its rail network to smaller settlements around the south. However, due to lower ridership, the line was leased to the South Isyee Electric Company, which then operated a rail line at the south since 1938, from Amos Hill to Jaspee. The line then extended to Keena South through a landmark contract in 1942. However, forced to scale back their operations in the 40s due to budget deficits, the line was truncated to serve from Japsee southwards and closed the remaining Lhasa Ranch segment from 1946 onwards, with a connecting rail link to Therran. Due to a lack of funds, the line became poorly maintained and mismanaged.
In the 1950s, when the Marapura line was being constructed, the GRTC made plans to take over the line to serve the area as Gobras City rapidly expanded southwards. Deciding it will be cheaper to rehabilitate and take over the line, than building a line themselves, the GRTC has offered US$800 million to take over their line. Initially reluctant to turn over their own source of income, it was only in 1953 when both sides managed to strike a deal, with the company still managing the segment of the line and taking 70% of ticket sales from passengers using the segment. The original Jaspee station was demolished and reconstructed underground to connect with the metro extension from Marcais.
The line was absorbed into the Marapura line on 12 January 1959 upon the extension completion. Before that, however, the South Isyee Company, suddenly dissolved in 1958 upon the death of its broad members. It was alleged that the GRTC engineered the company's collapse to allowed the GRTC to take full ownership of the South Isyee line. Nothing has been proven.
Wynot line reconstruction and further developments
As Gobras City goes through reconstruction in the 60s and 70s, the Wynot Rail line from Pier to Wynot had to make way for the A2 Expressway. Hence, the line has to be realigned, which was seen as a great opportunity to reconnect the line to the new developments in the northeast, such as the Benner Raceway Circuit and the upcoming Geolympiad Lake which will host some water sports for the Gobras Geolympiad Games. In October 1964, plans were approved for the new alignment which will parallel along with a new GoRail ML line.
The new alignment also included the construction of a new depot for Lines 4 and 8 around Geolympiad Lake, a new manufacturing plant for Danhduong locomotives serving the Gobras City Metro, and new railway interchanges at Geolympiad Lake and Vaarbentar. A new branch to Motor City was also planned to connect to an anticipated retail motor hub but such plans had to be cancelled when the developer for the planned Motor City went bankrupt. The one-track branch built for Motor City has since been used as a test site for new Danhduong locomotives and signalling systems.
The new Wynot line was completed on 19 January 1971, and the old Wynot line closed right after. The old Wynot station building remained preserved above the new Wynot station while part of the old rail line has been converted to a bike path. The line then extended to Yago on 8 February 1983, with anticipation of creating a new 'transport gateway' for buses coming to and from the city. However, the Gobras City authorities passed a new law in 1984 which calls for protecting the farms around the area, which prevented further developments around the Yago station and any further extension of the line.
In 1975, the reconstruction of the Grand Safari resulted in the closure of its old entrance above the Grand Safari station. At the same time, it was planned to build a new infill station to interchange the line with Line U, which was completed in 1974. It was then decided to close the old Grand Safari station and build a new interchange station at Yalarah Circle, which was completed on 24 August 1978. The construction of the station was one of the most challenging projects requiring minimal disruption to road traffic and train operations on Line 8 and U.
In the 1990s, the line went through a modernisation programme with power upgrades and station refurbishments. Platform screen doors were also implemented at selected underground stations, though limited funds have prevented further implementation. The stations were refurbished to include barrier-free access, with the installation of new lifts, wider fare gates and tactile tiles to guide the blind. New rolling stocks were introduced, supplied by Danhduong, which replaced the old Avawoon 88 and 89 stocks.
Route and services
The line serves about 30 stations from Yago to Isyee. Majority of the line is underground, with the few exceptions such as Yago, Vaarbentar, Sky Point West and the other stations from the Asraluu to Isyee stations (except Serpokhan). The line starts from Yago at surface level, and parallels Benner Parkway, going underground at Wynot station. As the line curves southwards to Vaarbentar, it goes back to surface level, paralleling a GoRail corridor from Vaarbentar to Geolympiad Lake. The line has a branch to an RT-Metro depot at Geolympiad Lake, where it also interchanges with Line 4. Briefly going underground underneath Gobras Coastway and later going back to surface level at Silversands, it also parallels Line 4, though it skips through many of the stops along the shared rail corridor (except Pier).
The line goes underground before Jjnov station and then curves towards the west side of Kilometer Square, running parallel with Line 3 at the cross-platform interchanges of the Lhatgaver North and Assembly stations. After Assembly station it curves to the south side of the Square, interchanging with Line 9 at Capitol South, and then follows Marapura Avenue after Marapura Avenue station. Between the Khaikeagha Circle and Osprey Circle stations, the line branches off to Khaikeagha Yard. The line briefly continues above ground at Sky Point West station, interchanging with Line 7, and goes back underground from East Prado Plains onwards. Line 2 then joins Line 8 at Jaspee and both shared tracks briefly before Line 8 continues to Capital Heights station, with Line 2 branching off eastwards.
After Capital Heights, the line remains above ground, going to surface level at Asraluu which interchanges with a GoRail service from Therran. After Asraluu, the line also branches off to Asraluu Metro Depot, while it continues through a hill at Serpokhan station. After that, it continues to Oleander Hills, before which there are two rail stubs that were a remnant of the original realignment. After Athyanee station, the line becomes a single-tracked line to its terminus at Isyee station, after which there are preserved rails to Amos Hill.