Orlavo Metro
 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Метро Орлаво |
| Owner | Orlavo District Government |
| Area served | Orlavo |
| Locale | Orlavo |
| Transit type | Rapid transit |
| Number of lines | 8 |
| Number of stations | 55 |
| Daily ridership | 1.431 million daily |
| Annual ridership | 494.56 million |
| Chief executive | Petro Trochanov |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | 2 September 1953 |
| Operator(s) | Orlavo Metropolitan Transport Authority |
| Number of vehicles | 874 cars (in 150 trains) |
| Technical | |
| System length | 68.648 mi (110.478 km) |
| Track gauge | 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 27⁄32 in) |
| Average speed | 36.11 mph (58.11 km/h) |
| Top speed | 50 mph (80 km/h) |
The Orlavo Metro (Soravian Метро Орлаво) is a rapid transit system serving Orlavo, Vinalia. Opened in 1948 with one 10-kilometre line and 6 stations, it was the first underground railway system in North Vinalia, and until 1988 the only system in both Vinalia's. As of 2019, the Orlavo Metro, has 55 unique stations across 8 lines, and its route length is 68.648 km (42.656 mi), making it the largest in Vinalia. The system is mostly underground, with the deepest section 74 metres (243 ft) underground at the New Steelworks station, one of the world's deepest underground stations. It is the busiest metro system in Vinalia, as the system carries 1.431 million passengers daily (2019), accounting for 48.7% of Orlavo's public transport load (as of 2019). In 2019, the metro carried 494.56 million passengers.
The system has become an economic, and cultural driver for Orlavo and the nation as well, as a result of this it has become a victim of numerous terrorist attacks, and incidents. Today the population of Orlavo depend on this system for daily travel, and the government has sought to expand the system, and improve it as a measure to reduce the growing congestion in Vinalian roads. The system has been seen throughout the years as an important booster of growth and prosperity making it a hotly contested issue in Orlavo, and the nation as a whole, with candidates running on strong metro support stances are usually more popular than their non-supportive candidates.
History
Proposal
The first idea for an underground railway was flaunted around in 1937, after development elsewhere in the world, the idea of building such a system intrigued government officials which desired to prove with the project North Vinalian technological, engineering, and monetary prowess over the south. Plans were drawn out which called for an initial line running northwards under Liberty boulevard all the way to the Field of Liberty some 10 km's of stretch, with 5 stations every 2 km's. Although desire to build the system remained high, funding was a considerable hassle, following the recent civil war Orlavo was in need of reconstruction and a lack of government funding to support reconstruction tied down city resources, the plan was slotted to begin construction in 1942.
In 1942 with the explosion of the Second Vinalian Civil War the year prior the plan was revised and updated, calling for only 3 stations in a 9 km stretch with a construction date to be announced in the future. In 1945 after 3 years of delay the plan was once again revised, calling for the construction of 10 km's of tunnels with 6 stations, the central government now more open to the proposal approved the funding necessary for the building of the metro. The construction of the metro was kept on schedule, although problems arose over the cut and cover method disrupting the Liberty Boulevard causing traffic delays until it was opened. The metro was inaugurated the 2nd of September 1953 just in time for the 15th anniversary of the revolution, it was inaugurated by Minister-President of Vinalia Valerij Voshkolup. The line was called A line (today known as 1A). The rolling stock selected was a North Vinalian made version of the Kirenian {{wp|BVG_Class_C|BVG Class C]] the VOR-EA212.
First years
The metro was quickly adopted and grew in popularity in Orlavo, as many rushed to the system as a sign of protest to the city's expensive and inefficient bus systems. City officials had by 1955 approved further expansion of the system building another 4 stations for the A line bringing its western termini from the Field of Liberty to the under construction Serpukhov airport (today Serphukov Memorial Airport), which finished in 1961. Further expansions of Workers Square were put in place, authorities sought to make Workers Square as the central hub of the system and city, as a result of this the area around Workers is colloquially known as Central Town (Центральне місто; Tsentralʹne misto), large enterprises have moved to Workers Square during the years cementing the stations importance.
The new government of Minister-President Ostap Maksymenko, suffered initially from low popularity, and Ostap struggled to maintain support from the general populace and of his own party. After the Orlavo city council voted for expanding the system further in January 1960, Ostap assured funding for the project, the city council had sought the construction of Line 1 from Yuzhnoukrainsk to the northwest of Workers Square (1B line), to Orlev Square to the southeast of Workers Square (similar to Line 3 in the modern system), with a total of 5 new stations. Ostap had the plan expanded to go to Brovarska then a small suburb of Orlavo to the Northwest, with a grand total of 10 stations, 5 to the north, and 3 south of Workers. The decision was highly popular and it was decided that the northern section would be constructed first as the geology south of Workers was of harder rock, which made work harder. The Third Vinalian Civil War would explode in 1961, bringing work on the line to a halt as resources were diverted elsewhere. The tunnels of the metro provided shelter and safety to the citizens of the city from air raids. Following the end of the war in 1962, construction of the southern section of the line was cancelled, and construction on the northern section continued until 1967 when it was finally completed. The line was named Line 2, but was renamed 1B in 1967.
New Nation era (1966-1980)
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The rise of Danylo Palij and his New Nation Movement in 1966, brought the greatest period of expansion to the metro yet, as well as its most infamous period. A week following Palij's election to be Minister-President of Vinalia, Palij entered into discussions with the Orlavo City Council, an entity he had been a member of in 1950-1952, he approved the plans the City council had prepared for the Orlavo Metro, along with a variety of other projects. Part of the "Advancement of the state" section of infrastructure, the Orlavo Metro was to see: The creation of Line 2 from the Bayfront of Orlavo on the far east of the city, to the Vodushno district on the west of the city, then a blue-collar neighborhood, the line was to have 12 new stations and connect with the other 2 lines in Workers. The plans for a line heading towards Orlev square were brought back as Line 3, which was to extend from Workers Square to Point Sofia on the southeast of the city, a grand total of 6 new stations were to be built on the line. Finally Line 4 was to start from the Zavodska district of the city known for its commercial venues in its east, to Workers traveling straight to the Pushkino mall (now only Pushkino station) and moving north to Workers, with a grand total of 6 new stations. The plans were highly ambitious and engineers doubted if the work could be accomplished on the decade timeline Palij had set. The concurrent construction of all 3 lines created large congestion, and disturbance in the usually quiet Orlavo, work was carried out day and night on the tunnels, conditions were considered terrible, injuries during construction were wide and rampant, and some estimate that up to 24 workers might have lost their life during the construction of Line 2 alone, including a deadly cave-in on the morning of March 19th 1973 during the construction of New Steelworks station which left 6 men dead, and delayed construction for several months. Frequent worker deaths in the construction of the system, were also complemented by issues on the system. On June 9th 1969, a woman fell to her death after a staircase over Line 1A in Zberbash station collapsed during rush hour leading to the fall of 20 persons into the railtracks of the station in front of an incoming train, the train was able to stop but the woman a local politician died from the fall. This events and others including an stampede on December 1968 which left 12 people, mostly children dead, brought forth several issues in the management of the system. The metro system which had then been under the supervision of the Orlavo City council, was brought under control of a chief executive who could manage the system on January 1970, the executive was appointed by a workers council. The systems first executive was Nazar Dobrovolskyj, which began extensive works to modernize and improve the system, this improvements were met with general success, under Nazar's leadership, until the cave-in on Steelworks station forced him to resign, with Sava Panasenko becoming the new executive.
The first of Palij's ambitious expansions opened on the 11th of September 1973, when Line 3 was finished ahead of schedule, Palij deemed the event a showcase of North Vinalian and socialism prowess over Euclean style democracies, as was the case of South Vinalia. The line was met with great support and became highly popular, with scenes of citizens trying to sell their now useless cars and bus tickets to any willing buyers. The metro system would be rocked by a series of bombings on the morning of the 11th of March 1974, as members of the Episemialist League, a religious-fundamentalist group protesting new laws in North Vinalia which prohibited the practice of religion, and other religious subjects, was carried out on the religious holiday of Maslenitsa which was for the first time pre-colonialism that the day was not celebrated. The attack the deadliest in Vinalian history left 97 people dead and left 208 people injured, when 3 bombs exploded in Workers Square, Klovska, and Point Sofia in Line 3. The explosions heavily impacted Workers Square, and the station needed extensive work to be repaired, utilizing the opportunity large scale renovations were undertaken on the station, and it returned to full capacity with new amenities and large renovations for the metros 25th anniversary in 1978. Unfortunately terrorism in the system did not stop, as the system was attacked again in 1975, when Yasynuvata station was bombed leaving 10 people dead and 20 injured, and 1979 when a suicidal bomber in a moving train into Darnytsia station which left 15 people dead and over 100 injured. The 31 Day war in 1975, would see the metro used again as a shelter from air raids, as Southern air raids bombed Orlavo for two straight nights, before peace was signed.
1975-1995
Although damage was limited to the metro, the end of the war and the collapse of the New Nation Movement, meant the end of expansion for the metro system until reunification. New administrations wrestled with dwindling ridership numbers and a tight budget, as North Vinalia underwent a period of recession following the war. Construction was slowed down and plans for the construction of the section of tunnel between Pushkino mall and Workers Square which was to be part of Line 4 were delayed and ultimately placed on hold. Line 2 would finish construction in 1978, 2 years after scheduled, and Line 4 from Zavodska to Pushkino mall would finish in 1980, 4 years after scheduled. In 1981, an investigation into the finances of the Orlavo Workers Association found high levels of irregularity and corruption, multiple arrests were carried out in August 1980, which saw the arrest of some 40 members of the association including Chief executive Sava Panasenko, which was charged with embezzlement, and corruption and received 11 years in prison. The central government under Minister-President Ananiy Molyboga appointed a foreigner to the position of chief executive. Carsten Wahle, the former chief of the metro system of Harimisaareke, Kirenia's capital, was appointed as the new chief executive, Wahle had a strong reputation for the successes of the Harimisaareke metro, which he had overseen for several years. Wahle had inherited a system in disrepair and with debt issues, the system had been unable to raise enough capital and only city funding ensured the system continued running in its capacity as before, although ridership numbers plummeted, crime during this period was high in the system, a proposal in the aftermath of the 1979 bombing had looked to policing the metro with soldiers from the army to maintain safety and trust in the system as citizens feared for their life's every time they entered a metro station or train.
Wahle was quick to take action, seeking to tackle issues including poor maintenance, low ridership, and bad customer satisfaction with a series of sweeping reforms. With the support of the central government, the Orlavo Metro separated its finances from that of the city council, which had used the metro as another method for the recollection of tax revenues, Wahle established that the metro would pay for its own expenses from profits generated by the system, along with the selling of station floor and advertisements, the city would only recollect revenue from a 5% tax on fares, and 7.5% on items sold in stations, thus creating the incentive to ensure ridership remained high for the city. Under Molyboga the North Vinalian economy had liberalized and begun to recover, this reforms implemented by Wahle were seen as a stepping stone into a stronger economy in North Vinalia, and the Molyboga government made sure to make Wahle a household name in Vinalia.
Wahle's reforms were crucial for reigniting the system, as renewed interest in the metro, better customer satisfaction, and a strong economy led to rising ridership numbers for the first time in years. Wahle did not favor further construction on the system at the time, and instead focused his efforts on securing new rolling stock for the metro, a goal he accomplished in 1984 when North Vinalia began acquiring and producing the {{wp|Metrovagonmash_81-717/81-714|VOR-EA313]], the newer model made the system faster and more modern and helped Wahle in his goal of improving the system. The new Minister-President of Vinalia Rostyslav Zinchenko, sought to expand the system, although. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Renewal
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In 1979 following the arrest of Andrij Yevhe, the metro underwent a period of administrative rebuilding the former chief of the Swetapolis metro Carsten Wahle was brought to become the new chief, Wahle began widespread reform in the system maintaining the necessity of a worthwhile service, along with securing funding for the refurbishment of many stations, citing the lack of care given to the maintenance of the stations, funding was easily secured following rumours of possible corruption links between the metro and provincial authorities. Wahle had been able by 1984 refurnished the system, improving it's faulty signals system and tracks which had created usual delays and required frequent maintenance. In 1985 construction on a new line called the 3rd Line began from Bayfront in the residential areas of the bay, to Workers Square began the line being the only connection into the residential heavy areas of the western bay which had seen considerable growth in the 70's. The following year construction on the 4th Line began going under Loik Boulevard as had been previously planned, going from Beresteiska Center to Burunsdi linking up with the 2nd Line, improvements for handicapped accessibility began in many stations.
With the end of the Vinalian struggles large scale investment came to the metro, which had by 1989 allowed the system to build another further 2 lines the 5th Line stretching from Point Sofia to the Orlavo University, construction of the 4 lines at the same time created logistical problems for the city as it was hard to mobilize heavy machinery in the crowded streets of Orlavo. In 1993 with the establishment of the Vinalian Republic, further funding reached the metro and had by 1995 secured expansion of another further 3 stations to the 2nd Line, along with the expansion of the 4th Line to the planned West Orlavo Sports Complex (today the Red Foxes Stadium). With the opening of the 3, 4, 5 Lines before the year 2000, the metro reached over a million daily passengers, with plans to further expand the system in Line 3 approved. Wahle would retire from his position and be succeeded by Maksym Samojlenko as the Chief of the metro.
Modern day
The election of Yana Nahorna in 2004 for Orlavo Mayor saw the aggressive construction of 2 lines pushed the Zhe (Ж) Line, and the O Line or Circle Line, the Zhe Line is to extend from Zavodska in the bay to Pokrovska in the south of the City, while the O Line is to start in Beresteiska Center in the North go through Workers square and finally end in Burunsdi, construction of this two lines was marked as the end of the rapid expansion of the metro. Both lines were finished in September 2014. Construction of an extra 1.5km stretch between Bondar station and Klovska was started in 2012 culminating in 2015 for the 2nd Line. In 2010 a deal was also agreed to change the entire fleet of rolling stock in the system for the NU-1544.
The Metro is set to expand a further 3 stations by 2025 with the expansion of the 3rd Line from Pochaina to the Dunas International Airport, construction is to begin in 2020.
Infrastructure
Lines
~~ Need to be updated with info from above as its finished
| Livery and # | Name | Native Name | Date of first Opening | Most recent station opening | Termini | Number of stations | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1A Line | 1A Лінія | 1 September 1953 | 1 October 1961 | Liberty Beach Пляж Свободи (Plyazh Svobody) |
Serpukhov Airport Аеропорт Серпухова (Aeroport Serpukhova) |
15* |
|
|
1B Line | 1Б Лінія | 13 March 1967 | 13 March 1967 | Workers Square Площа робітників (Ploshcha Robitnykiv) |
Brovarska Броварська (Броварська) |
7* |
|
2 Line | 2 Лінія | 21 September 1978 | ~~16 October 2015~~ | Bayfront Бейфронт (Beyfront) |
Vodushno Водушно (Vodushno) |
10* |
|
|
3 Line | 3 Лінія | 11 September 1973 | ~~26 April 2004~~ | Point Sofia Точка Софія (Tochka Sofiya) |
Pochaina Дурвал (Pochaina) |
9* |
|
|
4 Line | 4 Лінія | 11 December 1980 | ~~18 December 2004~~ | Zavodska Заводська (Zavodsʹka) |
Red Foxes Stadium Стадіон Червоні лисиці (Stadion Chervoni lysytsi) |
7* |
|
|
5 Line | 5 Лінія | ~~7 August 1999~~ | ~~7 August 1999~~ | Klovska Кловська (Klovsʹka) |
Workers Square Площа робітників (Ploshcha Robitnykiv) |
9* |
|
|
Zhe Line | Ж Лінія | ~~15 September 2014~~ | ~~15 September 2014~~ | Beresteiska Center Центр Берестейська (Tsentr Beresteysʹka) |
Pokrovska Центр Покровська (Tsentr Pokrovsʹka) |
8* |
|
|
O (Circle) Line | O Лінія | ~~15 September 2014~~ | ~~15 September 2014~~ | Beresteiska Center Центр Берестейська (Tsentr Beresteysʹka) |
Uzda Aquarium Уздський акваріум (Uzdsʹkyy akvarium) |
3* |
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- -Counting Transfers
Stations
The Orlavo metro has 62 stations in the system, the metro has been praised for it's architecture with architecture in the old town of Orlavo holding colonial style architecture in it's stations. Stations built after the 1979 arrival of Carsten Wahle from Swetania, shows many similarities with stations found back in his native Swetania, with large murals and mosaics showing artistic depictions of life, some of this murals such as the murals in Bayfront station painted by North Vinalian artist Artur Slojovac, have been marked as a Vinalian Symbol of Culture by the Ministry of Culture, some 8 stations have such designation since such classification was established in 1994, making them protected pieces of Vinalian culture.
The Orlavo Metro has been criticized by disability rights activists for it's inaccessible or lacking infrastructure for handicapped commuters in the system. Since the late 80's improvements on such an issue have been started, and all stations built since 1995 by law must comply with requirements, despite large improvements on this area, some 3 stations have been marked as needing of upgrades to better service handicapped commuters, and the central government has moved to fix this issue.
Rolling stock
As of 2019 there are 874 wagons in operations, mostly from the 70's North Vinalian model VOR-EA313 accounting for 600 wagons, while there are 375 newer NU-1544 models from 2010, and some 99 wagons from the VOR-EA212 model of the 1950's which was the first model in the system designed from models in other countries, they're to be rolled out by 2020 with the VOR-EA313 in 2022, with 10 (5 of each model) to be kept for special occasions such as anniversaries of the metro.
Since 2000 all wagons have had visual informational displays installed with interactive maps of the system, this systems are equally found in stations. An audio system announces information of relevance to the passenger, in Workers Square station information regarding the many transfers and attractions is the longest announcement at a minute and 30 seconds. On special occasions special announcements are made, such as in the Salutary festival during the 1st and 2nd of June in Burunsdi station announcing festival activities during the 2 days, when Orlavo has hosted the Sports Week (2002, 2008, and 2017) announcements of events near the stations were made.
Management
The Orlavo Metro is managed by the provincial transport authority, the OMTA (Orlavo Metropolitan Transport Authority) since 1993, after the Federal District of Orlavo was established, being transferred from the City of Orlavo (which stopped defacto existing) to the provincial government. The metro has established a real estate sister company which controls the land above the stations with the exception of public (such as the Worker's Square), and private (such as Red Foxes Stadium), Bresteiska Center is owned and managed by this sister company as it was bought in 1996. The metro is operated by chief executive Petro Trochanov since 2015, and manages it alongside a group of five appointed individuals two are appointed by the City Council, another by the mayor, and one from the Ministry of Transport.
Culture
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In 2003 the Orlavo Metro launched a public contest to create the anthem of the system, some 500 songs were submitted to the event organizers, which were through 5 rounds of voting lowered to 10 choices. Although many songs were from popular artists from Orlavo, it came as a shock when Orlavo based underground Post-Rock band Explosions in the Sky won the contest, with over 65,000 votes over it's next contestant. Their song "Orlavo Metro" which had been made earlier 3 years prior, struck with listeners which supported the song and the band, jumping the relatively unknown band to the national stage. The song plays inside stations, where it has been joined by the entire album since 2009, along with user voted songs which today number over 50 songs playing in the metro 15 of which belong to Rockets in the Air.
The metro has become a hub for musicians, where spaces can be reserved to play inside in about 40 stations throughout the system, in 2015, an initiative by the OMTA saw some 100 musicians play throughout the system in the month of November as a public outreach initiative named Music November. The event has been repeated ever since 2015, in 2018 the largest of this acts was carried by Rockets in the Air following the release of their new album in Workers Square which gathered some 2,000 people, the station had to be temporarily closed do to safety concerns.
Future
Following the completion of the Circle line in 2014, in 2010 a deal was reached for the NU-1544 train to replace all the old rolling stock in the system was reached to great public reception. In 2017 Worker's Square station started a renovation period of 3 years, alongside another 5 "key" stations in the system meant to improve the technology of the stations. In 2020 newly elected Orlavo mayor Tsvetnova Ajac announced that the construction for the expansion of the 3rd Line had been approved, such expansion had been planned in 2010 but lack of need and construction of projects elsewhere in the system delayed the construction of the extension which was to add 3 new stations to the line, construction is set to begin in July 2020.