Chryse Link
 A map of the Chryse Link | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Start | Lira, Syara |
| End | Koszalin, Górska |
| No. of stations | Delka Zasak Różan |
| Operation | |
| Opened |
|
| Owner | Sanguine Services |
| Operator |
|
| Character | Passenger trains, freight trains, vehicle shuttle trains |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 294 km (182.68 mi) |
| No. of tracks | 2 single track tunnels 1 service tunnel 4 overland track routes |
| Track gauge | 1,524 mm |
The Chryse Link is a 294 kilometer (182.68 mi) railway line that connects Lira, Syara with Koszalin, Górska via two subterranean tunnels connecting both countries to Chryse, which then connect to an overland railway through the island. The two tunnels run underneath the Górskan Channel (28.3 kilometers) and the Velyo Channel (36.6 kilometers), 250 feet below the sea bed of the Sanguine Sea. The overland route consists of just over 229 kilometers of railroad. The Link, sometimes identified as the Cross-Continental Rail or the Divide Bridge, is the only fixed link between the continents of Eracura and Siduri.
The first proposal for a fixed transportation connection between Górska and Syara originated in the mid-1800s for a series of bridges connecting the Kingdom of Makedon and Górska. After it was determined that the required length of the bridge made such plans infeasible, the idea was dropped. The concept was effectively abandoned after the Third Chryse War, but in the latter half of the 20th Century warming relations between the Republic of Syara and Górska led to a revitalization of the idea. The concept was once again abandoned following the Refusal War, but after the establishment of the Commonality it was revisited, with talks between the Syaran and Górskan government resuming in 2001. In 2004 both sides agreed to a new plan involving the digging of two tunnels underneath their respective channels that would then connect to an overland railway running through Chryse in a northern-southern direction. Construction began in 2007 but was put on hold during the Zemplen War. Construction resumed in late 2013 on the Syaran side, and the two tunnels were finally completed in 2015.
The Chryse Link is usable to passenger and freight trains, with an average speed approaching 150 kilometers an hour. The Link "starts" in Lira, entering the Veylo Tunnel and emerging at Delka on the southern coast of Syaran Chryse. An overland rail link than runs north to the border town of Zasak, after which passengers enter into Górskan Chryse. The Link continues north to Różan, after which is the Górskan Tunnel which terminates in Koszalin, on the continent of Eracura. Both Lira and Koszalin are connected to other major urban areas in Syara and Górska respectively via rail and motorways. The Chryse Link is officially owned by Sanguine Services, a joint Syaran-Górskan corporation. The border checkpoints of Zasak are jointly managed by the Górskan Federal Border Service and the Syaran Border Security Forces. The Chryse Link on average manages over 20 million passengers in addition to three million tons of freight per year.