Newstead Underground

Newstead Underground
Newesteader undergrundbanen (Borish)

Overview
Owner	City of Newstead
Locale	Newstead, Borland
Transit type	Rapid transit
Number of lines	4
Line number	U1, U2, U3, U4
Number of stations	115
Daily ridership	c. 1.3 million (weekdays)
Annual ridership	c. 465 million
Website	www.nst.bo/undergrund
Operation
Began operation	1948
Operator(s)	Newstead City Transit (NST)
Character	fully grade-separated, partially underground
Train length	28–112 metres
Technical
System length	c. 91 km
No. of tracks	2–3
Track gauge	1,500 mm (standard gauge)
Electrification	750 V DC overhead line
Top speed	100 km/h
System map

The Newstead Underground (Borish: Newesteader undergrundbanen) is a rapid transit system in Newstead. It is the largest rail rapid transit system in Borland and the only one which is fully grade-separated. The network consists of four lines and has 115 stations over 91 kilometres.

After opening for tests in 1948, the first section opened for regular passengers on the 3rd of December 1949. The system rapidly expanded until the late 1970s, with few extensions since.

Name

The Newstead Underground is referred to by a variety of names. Official texts use “Newstead Underground” in Estmerish and Newesteader undergrundbanen (“Newsteadʼs underground railways”) in Borish. Colloquially, Borish speakers generally refer to it as metro ([ˈmɛt.ɾo]) “metro” or bane ([ˈbɑːnə]) “train”, whilst Estmerish speakers use “underground” or “metro”. Sometimes, the underground is referred to as T-bane (short for tunnelbanen) or U-bane (short for undergrundbanen and a calque of the Weranian U-Bahn).

History

First plans

The first calls for the construction of a rapid transit system in Newstead date back to the 1900s, as the city had grown a lot during the industrial revolution and congestion had become a serious problem. Planning began in 1921, but was put on halt due to the outbreak of the Great War.

Construction and early operation

Due to post-war reconstruction and the independence process, planning did not resume until 1938. According to the 1940 plan, the metro system would consist of five to six lines, although the plan was changed after construction had begun. In 1942, construction on the first section of the Newstead Underground began. On 11 July 1948, the line from Independence (now: Raadshous) to the Zoological Garden was inaugurated, although it only operated experimentally until 3 December 1949, when regular passenger service on the ten stations between Willemsplat and the Zoological Garden started. Early the following year, on 1 January 1950, the second line opened between Westgate (now: New World) and University, running parallel to the Willemsplat–Zoo line between Independence and University. The Willemsplat–Zoo line was known as A, while the Westgate–University line was known as B. By 1958, line A had been extended to its current termini: Spandaw to the west and Teltaw to the east. The below-ground station at the Zoological Garden was closed and replaced with an above-ground station at the Botanical Garden nearby.

Lines

There are four lines on the Newstead underground, numbered U1–U4.

Line		Stations	From	To	Route	Length	First opened	Last extension
U1		30	Spandaw	Teltaw	Spandaw–Aldenspandaw–Steanfeld–Langenfeld–Lange Strate–Raadshous–Centralstatië–Universitÿt–Botanisker Garden–Rÿkshall–Aldenteltaw–Teltaw	22.6 km	1949	1958
U2		31	Boilen	Treckum	Boilen–Lewenkaster–Gravord–Yoorland–Universitÿt–Ostende–Hewmarket–Newe Werlde–Westende–Lindenstrate–Treckum	23.4 km	1958	1973
U2		26	Boilen	Centralstatië	Boilen–Lewenkaster–Gravord–Yoorland–Universitÿt–Ostende–Hoghstrate–Kerkenstrate–Centralstatië	18.25 km	1958	1964
U3		37	Neweham	Ÿsey	Neweham–Kaldehous–Yestmaar Market–Ost-Ring–Universitÿt–Centralstatië–Raadshous–West-Ring–Newe Werlde–Suiþ-Ring–Stadenhalle–Steanburg–Yestmaar Market–Bringe–Aarenhous–Ÿsey	28.5 km	1950	1969
U4		27	Holpen	Lindenstrate	Holpen–Aldet Þorp–Hayen–Yoorland–Hërden–Norþende–Centralstatië–Kerkenstrate–Hoghstrate–Krossstrate–Newe Werlde–Westende–Lindenstrate	16.9 km	1961	1978
U4		26	Holpen	Stadenpark	Holpen–Aldet Þorp–Hayen–Yoorland–Hërden–Norþende–Centralstatië–Kerkenstrate–Hoghstrate–Krossstrate–Hewmarket–Stadenpark	15.9 km	1961	1978

Branches and short services

While lines U1 and U3 do not have branches, lines U2 and U4 do. Every other U2 train starting from Boilen goes to Treckum or the Central Station, while every other U4 train that starts in Holpen goes to Linden Street or to City Park. As the lines branch in the centre of the city, frequency was lower on the busiest sections of the lines, which is why shortened services of these lines were introduced in 1990. Line U2, coming from Boilen, splits at Hermansplat in the Eastend, so additional services are run that operate only on the sections between Treckum and Hermansplat as well as between the Central Station and Hermansplat in order to have the same frequency inside the city centre as outside of it. With line U4, which splits at Cross Street, one branch operates between Cross Street and Linden Street, while the other operates between Cross Street and City Park. Both Cross Street and Hermansplat have island platforms. Trains from the branch line pull into the station opposite of trains on the main line to allow for a cross-platform transfer, so that passengers can comfortably travel from the branch line to main line destinations.

The shortest of the branch line services is the U4 service between Cross Street and City Park, which has only two intermediate stations over less than two kilometres. The U4 service between Cross Street and Linden Street is slightly longer, having three intermediate stations on 2.5 kilometres. While the U2 service between Hermansplat and the Central Station has only intermediate stations, the U2 service between Hermansplat and Treckum is more substantial, having eleven intermediate stations.

Currently, the U4 branch services generally operate with two-car trains during peak hours and with a single-car train off-peak, while the U2 services use two- to three-car trains. However, as significant extensions to all branch lines are currently being built, it is possible that this will change in the future.

Line		Stations	From	To	Route	Length
U2		7	Hermansplat	Centralstatië	Hermansplat–Fangenstrate–Watergate–Hoghstrate–Kerkenstrate–Hovedstrate–Centralstatië	3.2 km
U2		13	Hermansplat	Treckum	Hermansplat–Ostmanstrate–Bellevuyeplat–Dalkerstrate–Alde Hverve–Hewmarket–Westgate–Westende–Lindenstrate–Westermark–Hunterstrate–Tellingholtstrate–Treckum	8.3 km
U4		4	Krossstrate	Stadenpark	Krossstate–Newe Strate–Hewmarket–Stadenpark	1.6 km
U4		5	Krossstrate	Lindenstrate	Krossstrate–Minsterstrate–Newe Werlde–Westende–Lindenstrate	2.8 km

Future plans

Line	From	To	Route (new stations in bold)	Planned opening
U4	Stadenpark	Stadenhalle	Stadenpark–Brunnenstrate–Middelstrate–Markgravenstrate(–Newemarketstrate–Stadenhalle)	2023
U2/U4	Lindenstrate	Rÿkenfeld	Lindenstrate–Westermark–Hunterstrate–Tellingholtstrate–Treckum–Treckum Centrum–Anstrate–Sportcentrum West–Aldenrÿken Market–Frëvelstrate–Rÿken Centrum–Maddestrate–Rÿkenfeld	2023
U2	Centralstatië	Ranswater	Centralstatië–Norþstrate–Koningsplat–Gradenstrate–Teghenstrate–Ranswater Centrum–Ranswater	2023–2030

The U4 extension to Markgravenstrate will include some services beyond Markgravenstrate to Stadenhalle via Newemarketstrate. The extension did not need new tunnels, as the local tunnels have been used for service trips for decades, although the stations at Brunnenstrate and Middelstrate needed to be constructed. Plans for a station at Middelstrate were included in all underground plans, but plans for its construction were put on halt for budget reasons in 1969.

The U4 extension from Lindenstrate to Rÿkenfeld will come with a shortening of some line U2 services that currently terminate at Treckum to Lindenstrate. NST aims for both the U2 and U4 operating every ten minutes on weekdays between Rÿkenfeld and Lindenstrate, adding up to a train every five minutes. Bringing the underground beyond Lindenstrate into Rÿkenfeld was first proposed in the late 1950s, as construction started on New-Rÿken, one of the largest residential developments that was a part of the new towns policy. Construction started in 1964, although only the section until the S-train station in Treckum was built due to budget issues. However, the streets in New-Rÿken and the street from Treckum to Old-Rÿken were built with space for the underground line to run on the median in mind. Construction on the section from Treckum to Rÿkenfeld did not resume until 1994 and was set to open in 2005, although numerous issues caused delays, with the extension now set to open in 2023 alongside the U4 extension to Markgravenstrate and parts of the U2 extension into the Northend.

The U2 extension to Ranswater is part of a long-planned extension of the line into the Northend. Currently, only the station at Konginsplat is set to open alongside the other extensions in 2023. Under construction since 2007, the extension was initially set to open in 2015, although delays on the U2/U4 extension to Rÿkenfeld caused delays on this extension as well. Plans suggest a branch of the proposed U5 line (Hërden–Middelstrate) to operate from Middelstrate to Ranswater, providing a direct service from this part of the Northend to the southern city centre.

Some plans call for extensions of underground services beyond Newstead city limits, including a U2 extension from Boilen into Millham-on-Leith, an extension of the current Rÿkenfeld extension to the nearby town of Kaven (Cavon) and an extension of the U3 from Newham into Brigge or Fellham. The light rail service from Hërden to Nettenlaar in Manham was initially planned to be an underground line from central Newstead into central Manham. Of these plans, only the extension from Rÿkenfeld to Kaven is being actively investigated by the NST as of 2022.

Infrastructure

Stations

There are 115 stations on the Newstead underground. Of these, all but fourteen stations are below-ground. With the completion of current expansion plans, the network is set to have fifteen new stations, bringing the total number of stations up to 130, of which 20 will be above-ground and 110 will be below-ground.

Besides stations that are currently under construction for the extensions to the U2 and U4, there is only one station that no longer gets regular passenger service: Zoological Garden (Zoologisker Garden). The station was opened in 1948 and was part of the original ten-station line, but closed in 1958, with the opening of line A (now U1) to Rixhall and Teltaw. Advertisements, maps and schedules from 1958 remained ever since and the station has been used as a filming location on several occasions. Dozens of times a day, trains entering or leaving service at the nearby depot pass through the station, although the station is not part of passenger services with the exception of some special services that start at the Zoo station and run onto mainline railway tracks to destinations outside the city.

With only few exceptions, all stations on the Newstead Underground have been built according to variations of only a small number of blueprints. This was chosen to decrease the costs and increase the speed of their construction as well as to allow passengers to navigate stations they are unfamiliar with quicker and more easily.

Accessibility

Since 1990, all new stations built for transit services in Borland have to be accessible under Borish law, with all existing stations needing retrofitting or concrete plans for when retrofitting is set to happen by 2025. None of the exceptions to that law for temporary stations, stations with particularly infrequent or irregular service or stations with particularly low demand apply to the Newstead Underground (unless Zoologisker Garden is counted). In 1995, the NST first published their plans to rebuild or retrofit transit stations in Newstead to comply with accessibility laws, with the Newstead Underground set to fully comply with these laws by 2025 at earliest and 2030 at latest. Between 1998 and 2020, accessible stations were marked on maps and timetables, but since 2021, stations which are not fully accessible are marked instead.

The main focus with stations is to eliminate steps whereever possible and provide alternatives (escalators and lifts) where necessary. The Underground did not open with escalators initially, but space for the future addition of escalators has been kept in mind and most below-ground stations had escalators retrofitted between 1960 and 1983. In order to make the system more robust in the instance of the failure of accessibility infrastructure, the Newstead Underground committed to provide more redundancy in its stations in 2011. Five stations had a third escalator added to allow for more capacity in peak direction, while 35 stations had their escalators modified or replaced to allow for their direction to be switched in case the other escalator at the station broke down. As of 2022, all but eleven below-ground stations (mostly on line U3) have escalators.
The first lifts for passenger use on the Newstead Underground were installed in 1960 at the networkʼs only elevated station (Lieþ-Brigge) in 1960, their widespread addition to stations starting in 1980. Until 2011, only major stations had more than one lift installed, with several stations having a second lift added since then in case of failure of the initial lift. The NST plans to have at least two lifts at all below-ground stations by 2025.

From the beginning, most stations on the Newstead Underground were built with the same platform height and distance between the platform and the train, although platforms at nine stations needed to be adjusted for that between 1996 and 2004. As a result, there are no major problems with platform gaps on the Newstead Underground. Whilst almost all stations have variations of the same few blueprints, each of the below-ground stations on the network is unique in its design, primarily via colours, materials and patterns used, meant to make the network more accessible for those who cannot read signs and/or hear announcements.

The NST first experimented with automated announcements in 1983, initially meaning to retrofit trains without the technology by 2000 with all new trains having it since 1988. The retrofitting of trains was prioritised in 1990 with the passing of Borlandʼs accessibility law. Since 1992, all trains have automated announcements, which initially consisted only of the name of the following stations and which side the doors open at. Since 2014, the announcements in the trains play twice: Once shortly after leaving a station and once shortly before arriving at a station. The first only announces the name of the next station, while the second also includes which side of the train the doors will open, with additional announcements at many stations for which transfers are available at the station and whether the transfer is a cross-platform transfer. This has since been adapted by other modes of transit in Newstead. Many stations have automated audio announcements alongside visual displays for incoming trains which include the line number, terminus and some major destinations along the route.

Reflecting conventions from other modes operated by the NST, on all models of rolling stock, the name of the next station is displayed inside the train (typically on screens in the front, back and middle of the vehicle). Some models of rolling stock additionally display the line number, destination, and several stations following the next one.

In 1990 and again in 2016, there were proposals by local politicians and representatives of the Estmerish community in Borland to have bilingual (Borish and Estmerish) or trilingual (Borish, Estmerish and Gaullican) audio announcements and wayfinding. Both proposals were ultimately rejected in order to prevent overtly long audio announcements. However, bi- and trilingual signage has been added to some major stations.

For reasons of accessibility, safety and boarding speed, it was proposed to implement platform screen doors on all or most underground stations. However, the different models of rolling stock having doors at different locations resulted in complications. Furthermore, tests with platform screen doors on the Newstead Aeroport shuttle and some of the Westhaven Underground stations ultimately ended government funding for the technology in Borland. As of 2022, there no longer are plans for the implementations of platform screen doors on the Newstead Underground.

Depots

There are three main depots (hoveddepot, pl. hoveddepoter) servicing the Newstead Underground. The largest depots are at the Zoological Garden, the Central Station (both holding at least 100 vehicles) and in Yoreland (holding around 75 vehicles) and together have room for at least 275 vehicles. The exact number of vehicles that can be held at the depots is not known, as the NST only counts vehicles fit for service, but some space in the depots is used by vehicles unfit for service. Five more side depots (nevendepot) can be found around the city. The depots in Spandaw, Teltaw and Boilen have room for 20 vehicles each, while the depot at Linden Street has room for 15 vehicles. The largest side depot can be found in Yestmore, where 25 vehicles can be stored. In total, these can hold at least 375 of the 356 vehicles that the NST sees as fit for regular service, although there are more than 420 spaces for vehicles in these depots. Somewhere between 35 and 50 vehicles that are unfit for regular service are in the depots at any given time. These are a mixture of retired vehicles that are used for special services, retired vehicles that get used for replacement parts for vehicles still in service and vehicles that broke down or have other issues and have been temporary pulled from service.

In addition to main and side depots, there are numerous side tracks and other facilities to store vehicles during the service day. Such facilities are found at all stations where lines terminate. Larger facilities can be found at Hayen, Holpen, Treckum, Hewmarket, Ysey and Newham.

With the upcoming extensions to the underground network, there are plans for new depots at Ranswater, Newmarket Ring and Rykenfield. A depot in Old-Ryken and capacity upgrades to the depots in Boilen and Yestmore are currently being discussed.

Ticketing

Fares

As with almost all public transit in Borland, the Newstead Underground is part of the national fare system of Borland.

Ticket systems

Several ticket systems are valid on the Newstead Underground, ranging from traditional paper tickets for single or multiple use over monthly passes and subscriptions to a variety of online tickets. The networkʼs ticketing systems are fully compatible with those of other Borish cities since 2010. On numerous occasions, there were discussions surrounding the discontinuation of paper tickets, though the Ministry for Transport, Telecommunication and Energy intervened to stop that in 2019.

Initially, there were only single-journey paper tickets, with tickets usable for four trips being introduced in 1965 and monthly tickets being introduced in 1976. In 1993, the first plastic tickets were introduced, initially only being usable on the Underground and featuring a system whereby passengers paid per station travelled. This system was withdrawn in 2008 in favour of subscriptions in which passengers would pay a monthly flat fare. Since 2010, all transit passes that are subscription-based come as a plastic card while all transit passes that have to be renewed monthly continue to come in a paper format.

Paper tickets for one or four journeys have to be validated by getting the ticket stamped after having boarded. Machines for validating tickets can be found at every door inside every vehicle. The validation includes the station that the passenger got on, the line as well as timestamps for the moment in which the ticket was validated.

Ticket machines exist at most stations. Furthermore, tickets can be bought at transit centres. Additionally, paper tickets that are valid on the Underground can be bought in busses, tramways and at over 250 private businesses in Newstead. Tickets cannot normally be bought aboard an Underground train, although fare enforcers are allowed to sell tickets in the event that a passenger bought the wrong ticket or has an invalid ticket.

Controls

Stations on the Newstead Underground do not feature fare gates, unlike many other rail rapid transit systems. As a result, fares on the system operate on a proof-of-payment system in which fares are enforced through random checks by NST employees, checking whether passengers have a valid ticket, transit pass or are exempt from fare payment. The punishment for non-payment is a fine of €50 that can rise up to to €500 instead under some circumstances (in particular in the case of repeated offenders of high income). Passengers caught riding without a valid ticket are exempt from paying fines if their ownership of a transit pass can be determined by the NST. Most commonly, this is done by the enforcement officer checking the NSTʼs database if the passenger has a valid ID card on them, or by asking the passenger to show the transit pass at an NST transit centre within the following two weeks.

In 2020, more than 250,000 people have been caught without a valid ticket. These were split almost equally into people who did not validate their otherwise valid ticket, had validated their ticket incorrectly or had forgotten or lost their ticket, and people who did not have a ticket on them. In nearly 170,000 instances, penalties had to be paid, earning the NST around €14 million.

Rolling stock

The earliest model of rolling stock used on the Newstead Underground consisted of experimental units based on commuter railway trains. Initially, it was planned to have vehicles be able to run from the underground onto the national railway system, making it necessary that vehicles were compatible, eventhough this rarely ended up happening. These trains were first introduced between 1946 (for testing before the networkʼs official opening) and 1950, with modified versions of these being introduced until 1961. The last trains of this type were pulled from service in 1986. Between 1978 and 1984, almost all trains of the previous models were replaced with standard urban trains, which also was introduced in Stunhill, Westhaven and on the Newstead S-train. All trains introduced to the underground since then have been variations of that model.

Most underground trains in Newstead use a mix of longditudinal and transverse seating, with older models using almost exclusively transverse seating and newer ones using a 50:50 split between the two.