Rail transport in Dalow
Rail transport in Dalow is comprised of both heavy rail and metro, with KulpanRail operating all heavy rail services in the city, and Dalow Transport Services (dalúnítosotir) operating the metro, along with other transport in the city.
KulpanRail
All heavy rail services in Dalow are operated by KulpanRail, which is in turn operated by the Transportation Division, a branch of the Kulpan government. Five of the six franchises which comprise KulpanRail operate into Dalow: CapitalConnect, Great Soutrian Railway, Southeasternly Rail, Westex, and Kulpan highspeed. Services currently call at thirty-five stations inside the Independent Province of Dalow, but plans have been proposed to open more stations as the population of Dalow has increased.
The CapitalConnect KulpanRail franchise opened a new line to Lanamoc in June 2020, after construction began in November 2017. Two new stations within Dalow were opened, Oriental Way and Fasan Road, and the existing metro station West Pybon was upgraded to support both KulpanRail and metro services. At present, six trains per hour run from Stralent, CapitalConnect's central terminus, along this new line, and terminating at Lanamoc in Minletor.
Metro system
Dalow Transport Services operates the Dalow Metro system, and has done so since its initial opening in 1958. It is comprised of five lines, designated with unique colours and a number, which serve all sixteen of the city's districts. The network of sixty-five stations also serve two towns in neighbouring provinces: Carpent, MT; and Shelall, SR.
The Dalow Metro system opened on 23rd August 1958, and originally only had two lines: line 1 and line 2. At this time, the system only served twenty-five stations. Line 1 originally went from Skirassa Road to Placrem High Street directly, without the Link Road Loop. Line 2 originally went from Paro Central to Field Way, and did not have its branch to Shelall via Probarol.
In 1961, Dalow Airport opened, along with the corresponding line 2 extension. The new link to the airport travelled via South West Road, an existing KulpanRail station which was upgraded to accommodate metro trains; and Carpent, a large town in Minletor. Later the same year, DNS (Dalow Transport Services) announced the construction of line 3, which would, at this time, start in Hokaten and terminate at Eastway. Construction began in 1962, and the new line was opened on 15th May 1965, after a delay due to Orbit Lane upgrade schedules being organised too optimistically.
DNS began construction on the line 2 branch in 1977, which was only scheduled to open as far as Border Avenue with the original plan. This branch opened in 1979, ahead of schedule, and reported high passenger numbers immediately upon opening. Services only travelled as far as Blacan Lane, where passengers would have to transfer to other line 2 services, but services were quickly introduced to Field Way because of the unexpectedly high numbers of riders.
The success of the Border Avenue branch made DNS consider other extensions to the metro network, and they announced the construction of line 4 in 1983. A route could not be agreed for some time, so construction began later than intended, in 1985. Line 4 opened in three stages: services began between Blacan North and East Saybar in 1988; services to North Pybon began in 1989; and trains began running to Serviceway in 1991.
Dalow Skiroff Airport opened in 1994 and, like with line 2, a corresponding metro extension followed. Line 1 continued past Skirassa Road and went to Skiroff Airport via Dalow Edge. DNS announced the extension of the line 2 branch in 1996, to Shelall Central, which subsequently opened in 1999. Services ran direct from Shelall Central to Blacan North immediately after opening, but rider figures were lower than expected and services were changed to instead only travel as far as Border Avenue in off-peak times. Trains continued to run from Shelall Central to Blacan North at peak times only.
Passenger figures on line 4 had become very high by 2002, which prompted DNS to announce that line 3 would be extended to North Pybon to alleviate some of the congestion faced. Construction began later that year, and services from North Pybon to Hokaten began in 2005. This new extension involved the upgrading of Lower Dencraten KulpanRail station, which was a significant engineering difficulty, as Eastway station was deep underground, whereas Lower Dencraten was above-ground. Constructing this section of track involved a sharp incline, which means that trains run at a slightly slower speed on this section of track as they lack enough power to maintain a constant speed.
In 2008, residents of Outer Trora organised protests and sent complaints to relevant councils, because they believed that they were not as fully integrated into Dalow as the city's other districts. They argued that their large distance away from the city center meant that the council had neglected creating transport links, so they wanted this to change. Around the same time, KulpanRail reported high passenger numbers on Southeasternly Rail trains travelling through Outer Trora station, with riders intending to get to Dalow city center. Subsequently, DNS announced in this year that line 5 would be constructed, from Outer Trora to Jilŋin Road, two busy KulpanRail stations which could be benefitted from having direct metro links to the city center. A route for the new line could not be agreed upon until 2009, when construction started. Line 5 would open in two stages, first from Outer Trora to Groman Road, and then from Groman Road to Jilŋin Road. Although construction started on the section from Groman Road to Outer Trora, the second stage did not start. DNS announced that they had deemed the chosen route "unacceptable" for the second stage, so they were consulting for a new route. Despite the apparent cancellation of the second stage, the first stage of the line opened in 2012, to positive reception. Passenger figures were high from the start, mainly due to users being from Outer Trora and wanting to get to the city center, the originally intended target audience. DNS has not fully cancelled the second stage of line 5 yet, but a route has still not been agreed, so it is unclear whether this portion of the line will be built or not.
DNS began construction on the Link Road Loop in 2014, thanks to KulpanRail cancelling the construction of a new mainline station in the area which would have provided direct links to the center of Dalow. Unlike line 5, the route for this section of track could be agreed, and the Loop opened in 2016. Trains travel in an anticlockwise direction around the Loop: first calling at Pencan Way and then continuing to Link Road and Tutle Road. Although departure boards and screens show these trains as travelling from Placrem High Street to Tutle Road, these trains do actually continue through this station and back to Placrem High Street.
As part of the "Connect the West" initiative, construction began on an extension to line 5 of the metro in October 2020. Once complete, this will add six new stations to the Dalow Metro network, two of which are already served by KulpanRail services. The "Connect the West" initiative also comprised of improvements to bus services throughout the west of the city, the addition of bus and cycle lanes to several major roads, and the construction of a revolutionary cycle superhighway, running from Burilán on the southwest edge of the city, to the boundary of the Dalow City district.