Metropolitan line (KRT)
The Metropolitan line is an east-west railway line on the Kien-k'ang Rapid Transit network operating between Ku-per in Pran-rang and Am-men, measuring 35.6 km, including its branches. Since its launch, it has been the most-utilized line on the KRT network, consistently surpassing 1 million journeys per day, owing to the prosperity along its right-of-way.
History
The Metropolitan line was initially championed by the Liberal politician Baronet Bu (1846 – 1920), who was an open admirer of the advanced urban railways of Hadaway, the capital city of Anglia and Lechernt. He had a grand vision for Kien-k'ang that positioned it as an imperial capital city of the eastern hemisphere, though the railway was only part of his vision that saw any degree of realization.
Shortcomings
While the Metropolitan line was consistently profitable since recovering from the 1913 fire, aided by the completion of its branch lines and the completion of the loop route, by the 1930 it had become overcrowded, on both the platforms and trains. Not only were the platforms too narrow and circulating space completely lacking that travellers queued outside the stations, but individuals risked passing out on the trains owing to crowding. It appears the pared-down implementation of Bu's railway has been a gross underestimate, but correcting these sizing issues after the fact would be challenging and not necessarily meaningful.
The Metropolitan's tracks in central Kien-k'ang has sharp turn and stops with short spacing, some as little as 250 metres apart from the next. Trains could thus not attain speed between stations, but it is this short spacing that makes the Metropolitan a popular means of travel in the city-centre. Additionally, sharp curves result from following streets at a shallow depth, but also meaning easy access to stations. Yet blocked by the trains in the city-centre, those in the suburbs could not travel much faster, and so commutes on the Metropolitan from suburbs is both time-consuming and likely to be a standing-room affair, an issue that the road lobby in Themiclesia has made light of as early as the late 1940s (even though car speed in comparable places was slower).
In 1961, the Super Metropolitan was announced as a co-operative project between Kien-k'ang and the central government, aiming to serve more distant suburbs and towns with a faster trains. This directive would, by 1964, give rise to the Exchequer and District Railway, which supplants suburban services hitherto run on the mainlines.