High-speed rail in Scovern

  High-speed lines for 300 km/h (186 mph)

  High-speed lines for 250 km/h (155 mph) or more

  Upgraded lines for 200–230 km/h (124–143 mph)

SJB Intercity high-speed services
h:mm 0:00 Kalstad S 0:37 Ramsing 0:53 Rimso H Helganes extension Depot (Rimso Hovedbanegård) Helganes 1:15 Maarslet 1:57 Lindby International Scovern Werania Millennium Bridge 2:10 Linå Elbdorf Hbf 2:31 2:44 Istebjerg Westbrücken Hbf 3:13 3:03 Asmindrup (seasonal direct services) 3:35 Lagerup Vestlig 3:41 Torsagen 4:18 Dronningmolle 4:56 Tonder

High-speed rail in Scovern is predominantly owned and operated by the state-owned railway company, Skovernsk Jernbane, as part of their SJB Intercity division. Euclostar services also operate within the country, primarily terminating at Rimso or at Lindby International to funnel into Scovern's domestic high-speed network. SJB operate a bihourly direct service between Rimso H and Westbrücken Hbf during Oktoberfest, calling at Lindby International and Elbdorf Hbf, which is the only international service the operator offers.

The first high-speed trains in Scovern were introduced in the 1990s on the Southern Main Line between Rimso and Kalstad, with the inaugural journey running on June 7, 1995. Initially, high-speed trains were an expensive but fast alternative to traditional heavy rail, but in the early 2000s, the country's high-speed network was greatly expanded and the SJB Intercity division was created, with dedicated platforms and services on high-speed lines. Traditional heavy rail services were kept as part of the SJB Regional and SJB National services, mainly to continue serving local communities that lay on new high-speed lines. New high-speed services were given the identifier of ICXX.

High-speed services in Scovern reach a maximum speed of 300 km/h (186 mph) on IC01, commonly known as "The Needle" (Mescon: Nåletog), between Rimso and Kalstad. This route runs every 15 minutes and is served exclusively by Bernbaum Atomik (SJB Class 188) trains. Most initial lines have since been upgraded to maximum speeds of 250 km/h (155 mph), but newer constructions in the east of the country have been limited to 230 km/h (143 mph) due to tighter corners for terrain navigation.

History

Prior high-speed services and planning

Higher-speed passenger trains were present in Scovern before the advent of conventional high-speed rail. After the Great War, and the ascension of Scovern to the Euclean Community in 1955, there was a greater desire to connect the cities of Rimso and Kalstad with the Euclean mainland. In 1958, the Continental Express (Mescon: Kontinental Ekspres) began service, using Estmerish-built class A4s which were given the domestic identifier of class 95. These trains had an instantly recognisable design that made them synonymous with the Express in Scovern. The route began at Kalstad S, served Rimso H before terminating at the newly-built Lindby-Eukléa (now Lindby International), built nearer to ferry terminals in the town. Ferry services were increased between Lindby and Werania, and the town grew substantially as a commuter hub towards the continent. The Express service regularly ran at speeds exceeding 150 km/h (93 mph), making it one of the fastest passenger services in the world at the time.

A class 95 train pictured near Mausing on the route between Rimso H and Lindby-Eukléa, 1960

The Continental Express service ran under the operation of Store Nordlige Jernbane until Scovern's rail companies were nationalised in 1963 under the premiership of Frank Kristian Sandberg. The rail companies were brought under the umbrella company Skovernsk Jernbane, a private company where the majority shares were held by the government. SJB took over the Express service in 1963, but the development of civil aviation meant the trains stopped servicing Lindby-Eukléa after 1968. Rising costs and safety concerns over using such old stock at high speeds meant the service was eventually terminated entirely in 1974.

Successful impletation of high-speed rail in Gaullica in the 1970s and 1980s saw transport ministers in Scovern discussing the possibility of designing and implementing a similar service to restore the high-speed link between Rimso and Kalstad. Plans were approved in 1987, but significant delays meant the inaugural route, connecting Rimso, Ramsing and Kalstad, did not open until 1995. The opening of the new Southern Main Line meant Scovern became the second country in northern Euclea to open high-speed rail after Caldia. The service initially ran between every half-hour, serving Ramsing hourly.

Initial stages

The interior of Lindby International after renovation in 2002

Istebjerg station platforms 7 and 8 were built separate to the main station in 2008, within a mountainside, to account for limits on bend angles for high-speed trains

High-speed journeys in 1995 were less than expected between Rimso and Kalstad. The opening of the line was faced with significant opposition from many airlines, who regularly ran direct flights between Rimso–Fejøbugt and Kalstad–Frank Sandberg, and the service ran concurrently with other SJB National express heavy-rail services, which were much cheaper. SJB launched a large advertising campaign promoting travelling by high-speed, reorganised their services to lessen the frequency of traditional express services, and decreased the price of a direct fare. In response to new higher demand, the service was increased to every 15 minutes.

The success of the Rimso–Kalstad link, as well as new high-speed lines opening in Werania, resulted in new planned high-speed links to Lindby. Construction began on a new line to connect Rimso to the continent by high-speed rail, including a controversial €450 million package granted by the government for the refurbishment of Lindby-Eukléa station, which had lay dormant since regional and national services redirected to the more central Lindby-Torv station in 1991. The station was renamed Lindby International to distinguish it from the old station, and services began running to Lindby via Maarslet in 2001.

National expansion

With the opening of the country's second high-speed rail link, SJB reorganised their divisions, creating the SJB Intercity division in 2001 for handling high-speed services. High-speed routes were given identifiers of ICXX, with Kalstad–Rimso as IC01 and Rimso–Lindby International as IC02 (though this was changed to IC03 in 2008). With the new Intercity brand, high-speed services across Scovern opened in rapid succession, with routes to Lagerup Vestlig opening in 2003, Linå in 2006, and to north-east Mesconia in 2014 with the link to Tonder. Euclostar services also began to run through the country, the Weisstadt–Rimso service opening in 2012, s'Holle–Rimso in 2014, and the Ghaillish Sleeper service from Invertwinc–Lindby International in 2017. SJB Intercity also began offering a seasonal direct service to Westbrücken in 2010 for Oktoberfest tourists.

Routes

Route No.	Termini	Route	Time (h:mm)	Date opened
SJB Intercity services
IC01	Kalstad S – Rimso H	Direct	0:41	June 7, 1995
IC02	Rimso H – Lagerup Vestlig	Rimso H – Linå – Istebjerg – Lagerup Vestlig	2:42	November 10, 2008
IC03	Rimso H – Lindby International	Rimso H – Maarslet – Lindby International	1:04	March 18, 2001
IC04	Lagerup Vestlig – Tonder	Lagerup Vestlig – Torsagen – Dronningmolle – Tonder	1:21	August 27, 2014
IC05	Kalstad S – Linå	Kalstad S – Ramsing – Rimso H – Linå	2:10	February 6, 2006
IC07	Rimso H – Maarslet	Direct	0:22	March 1, 2004
IC11	Rimso H – Lagerup Vestlig	Rimso H – Maarslet – Lindby International – Asmindrup – Lagerup Vestlig	3:06	June 18, 2003
IC20 (seasonal)	Rimso H – Westbrücken Hbf	Rimso H – Lindby International – Elbdorf Hbf – Westbrücken Hbf	2:38	September 12, 2010
Euclostar services
EC0253	s'Holle – Rimso H	s'Holle – Bouley – St. Richards – Dunwich – Westhaven – Newstead – Weisstadt Hbf – Ostdorf am Main Hbf – Westbrücken Hbf – Lindby International – Rimso H	8:17	April 8, 2015
EC1711	Weisstadt – Rimso H	Weisstadt Hbf – Ostdorf am Main Hbf – Westbrücken Hbf – Elbdorf Hbf – Lindby International – Maarslet – Rimso H	3:46	June 19, 2012
EC4252 ("Ghaillish Sleeper")	Invertwinc – Lindby International	Invertwinc – Garrafrauns – Spálgleann – Shanbally – Rail ferry transit – Torsagen – Lagerup Vestlig – Asmindrup – Lindby International	10:14	August 5, 2017