New London Underground

The New London Underground is one of the oldest and largest rapid transit systems in the world. Its creation was sparked by the Blix Cities Act, which said that cities must provide various forms of public transportation, through taxis or streetcars, or other various innovations. The system began with two 'trains' in 1855.

History
One of the largest problems with New London was that it was so spread out, because of the height restrictions and beautification restrictions, the population could not be very dense. The city could not afford to damage any of its historic architecture simply for a inner-city railway, so the New London Capital Commission decided to create an underground railway. They would destroy major roads, and underneath them place large tunnels for the new railway system.

They began by using gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives. It was a tremendous success. At one point, there was cause for concern as many believed it would replace horse-pulled carriages.

Expansions of the railway continued, reaching out into all ends of the Westminster Island. In 1923, the system expanded into East New London, which was a significant achievement as it was under the Westminster River.

It was not until 1919 that the system copied the London Underground with their electrification system.

2006 Overhaul
In 2003 there was much debate as to the relevance of the underground. During the Great Blix Depression it was highly used, but not maintained as the ridership fee was waived because few could afford to pay it. Having gone under over 40 years of little to no maintenance, many called for the city to abolish the underground, and instead invest in innovating in the public transportation sector. Others said that the NLU had a very high cultural signficance, and should be treated thusly. Others called for a massive overhaul of the entire underground, to modernize the system.

On November 22, 2003, the Urban New London Area Commission (UNLA) called for an overhaul of the system with 45 votes for the overhaul, 36 votes for it to remain the same, and 19 votes for the abolishment of the underground. The entire system was completely reformed, with letters replacing former line names to make the system easier to understand. The U-line, built in 1954, was closed in 2004 due to severe structural damage caused by poor design and leaks from the Westminster River above large portions of the line. It was filled with pillars everywhere to keep the buildings and roads above the lines from collapsing. There are pillars in the middle of train tracks, possible only because it is unused. The line continues to be a major pain for the UNLA, and costs millions of dollars per year to maintain and ensure safety for those above. The cost to reopen it would cost more than building a new line. The line has also become a global attraction for graffiti artists and admirers.

In May 2004, the controversial project began, completely modernizing the NLU. It would not reopen until June 2006, after many delays due to high traffic on the streets of West New London.

2010 expansion
In 2007, the UNLA commited to a massive project that would allow for the expansion into other cities in the UNLA, including Sasin City, New Vancouver, Daisifox, and more. The construction began in August 2008, after passing through the respective Cities' City Halls. It opened in April 2010.

Railway
The NLU consists of over 3000 stations.

Underground
The Underground portion of the Railway consists of almost all of the Westminister Island stations, of which there are over 950 stations, and after the 2013 expansion, there will be 1003 stations. The only other cities in the UNLA that are using the NLU as an actual underground rapid transit are Sasin City, Daisifox, East New London (partially), New Sienfield, and New Vancouver.

All in all, over 2000 stations are underground in the NLU.

Aboveground
With the 2010 expansion, many cities decided to go with aboveground rapid transit, instead of the more costly underground alternative. Cities that opted for this include East New London (partially), New Dimin, Socton, Orthoson, Laurien, and Lexi. Over 1000 stations are Aboveground in the NLU.

Hours
All lines except the E-line, O-line, and the P-line operate 24 hours, seven days a week. The E-, O-, and P-lines all operate from 5AM-1AM each day.

Busiest stations
The busiest station including transfers is the Shaftesbury Triangle station, which serves as a transfer station between the PLANE-, A-, B-, C-, Q-, and R- lines. It is also by far the largest station in the network, and was the first designed transfer station, intended to serve for the A- and B- lines.