High-speed rail in Manala

History

First networks

During the Second Great War, several Furbish military planners believed new higher speed railways will help the military logistic network. This view was shared by planners in Fluvannia. In 1941, the Fluvannian firm XXX, and Furbish firms Dubuisson and Richard Melberg and Associates, drew up plans for trains that can travel up to 210-245 km/h (300-350 m/h), along with plans for networks in their respective countries. The Furbish government approved the construction of a test track which was completed in 1943, and approved construction of a line between Boston and Noorderstein later that year, called the Hubert Brinkers High-Speed Railway. Construction was to be managed by the Furbish Railway Company and carried out by Bohšsa & Šakvin, Krumperman Broers, and Richard Melberg and Associates. At the same time, construction of a line between XXX and XXX in Fluvannia was approved by their government, built by XXX and XXX.

The rolling stock, called the Flying Onslander (later Flying Onslander I), was built by Furbish based Dubuisson and Fluvannian based XXX, and could travel at 210 km/h, but both the Furbish and Fluvannian railroads were built to accommodate faster speeds as companies believed technology will improve. Though the railroad was not originally intended to carry passengers, the Fluvannian and Furbish governments amended the respective plans to connect to train stations inside major cities as well as factories and military bases along the route. The governments also ordered the companies to make a passenger version of the train.

Revenue passenger service began on the Boston to Noorderstein line shortly after the end of the Second Great War in mid-1946. It cut travel times between the two cities in half, from 6 hours on the conventional track to 4 on the stopper service and 3 on the express. The FLUVANIALINENAME opened shortly later in TIME, reducing journey times from NUMBER hours to only NUMBER. Both services were not only commercial successes, they became far more popular than expected. As part of the postwar recovery plans, the Fluvannian and Furbish governments approved the construction of more lines. Both countries prioritized local and regional routes over the cross-country routes in the original plans, believing air travel was better for long distances. By the end of 1975, XXX km of high-speed rail lines existed in Fluvannia and XXX in The Furbish Islands, carrying XXX million and XXX million passengers respectively in that year.

paragraph on other countries

Post-Third Great War

The oil crisis faced by much of the world during the Third Great War spurred the development of more high-speed rail lines. The Fluvannian and Furbish governments began developing long-distance lines, and in XXX The Furbish Islands began operating the first high-speed sleeper trains. They also build ambitious projects, including tunnels of record-breaking lengths under the mountains and underwater.

In 1973 The Furbish Islands passed the Railroad Liberalization Act, which opened its entire railroad network, including high-speed rail, to competition from private companies. Its effects would not be seen until the end of the Third Great War, but it would prove successful as ridership increased drastically, and it would become a model for liberalization in other countries, such as XXX in YEAR and XXX in YEAR.

By country

The Furbish Islands

By far the largest high-speed rail network in Manala belongs to The Furbish Islands.