NotchRail

NotchRail 诺城地铁 Nuòchéng Dìtiě ノチローポーリズ地下鉄 Nochirōpōrizu Chikatetsu
Current logo, updated in 2076.
Overview
Locale	Notchropolis, Jebsten, Craftia
Transit type	Rapid transit Light metro
Number of lines	11
Number of stations	195
Daily ridership	2,415,247 (2074)
Operation
Began operation	25 February 1992
Owner	Jebstenian State Government
Operator(s)	NotchTransit Corporation
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ½ in) standard gauge
Electrification	DC 1500 V overhead line DC 1500 V third rail
System map

NotchRail (/'nɒtʃeɪəl/ noch-rayəl) is a rapid transit system in Notchropolis, Jebsten, Craftia, operated by the NotchTransit Corporation. It serves most urban and suburban areas of Notchropolis as well as most of the surrounding interurban area.

The NotchRail network has expanded significantly since its opening, especially between the 2020s and 2040s, to become Craftia's largest in terms of track length and number of stations. It is by far the busiest rapid transit system in Craftia, serving more than the next two busiest networks (the Bonestan Metro Railway and Troll City Subway) combined.

Name

The name "NotchRail" is a portmanteau of Notchropolis Railways, the original name of the network, and was first used as a nickname immediately after the first line opened in 1992. In 1995 it became the official name of the network.

In Chinese, the name of the network is 诺城地铁 (Pinyin: Nuòchéng Dìtiě), which literally translates to 'Notchropolis Metro' or 'Notchropolis Subway'.

In Japanese, the official name is ノチローポーリズ地下鉄 (Hepburn: Nochirōpōrizu Chikatetsu), which also translates to 'Notchropolis Metro'. However, owing to its long name, in practice the system is often referred to in common usage as ノチロ地下鉄 (Nochiro Chikatetsu), using Notchropolis' short form name in Japanese, or simply ノチライル (Nochirairu), using the transliteration of 'NotchRail' into Romaji.

Fleet

Main article: NotchRail Fleet

Set	Cars	Used on
D Set	2	–
T Set	3	Airport Express
Q Set	4	Eastern Line
P Set	5	Lake Line, Waratah Line, Western Line
H Set	6	North-South Line, Downtown Line, Northern Line, Stuart Line, Itsusen Line
O Set	8	–
N Set	9	–

The D Set and N Set are only ever used rarely, such as in special events.

P84 (a P Set) idles at the Wiragul Train Yards.

Network

The NotchRail network consists of 11 network lines, denoted by a numerical code and a colour, typically in the form of a coloured block or belt.

Most of the network's lines travel through the city and suburban areas. They are numbered with the prefix L, with the exception of the City Circle loop line (CC) and the Airport Express service (AE).

The current network map.

The current regional network map.

Code	Name	Operates between	Stations	Opened	Latest extension	Fleet
CC	City Circle	Loop line; late-night services terminate at Central	20	2027	2030	H Set
L1	North-South Line	Caniswell and Alistonville	36	1992	2068	H Set
L2	Downtown Line	Accumula Town and Oldale Village	28	2007	2067	H Set
L3	Northern Line	Unbiyong and Rustboro Town	25	2031	2053	H Set
L4	Lake Line	Blairgowrie and Greenwood or Lake Wilson North	31	2023	2070	P Set
L5	Waratah Line	Saffron Town and Pete's Corner	30	2025	2051	P Set
L6	Stuart Line	Bob's Farm and Petalburg	24	2023	2059	H Set
L7	Western Line	Castlebrook and Veilstone Village	28	2019	2069	P Set
L8	Eastern Line	Plainswood and Nakamura Park or New Achelous	15	2040	2067	Q Set
L9	Itsusen Line	DeLorean Airport T2 and Viridian Town	36	2047	2063	H Set
AE	Airport Express	DeLorean Airport T2 and Castlebrook Airport	5	2034	2061	T Set

Other modes of transport that have been integrated into the network (and often included on its map, though not technically counted as lines) include the Expo Metro, a light metro line serving the Expo Village (recently converted from rapid transit) and the Metro Monorail network.

No new lines have been built since 2047, with the network's focus since the 2050s shifting towards extending existing lines.

Services

All nine suburban lines run three different stopping patterns: all stations, limited stops and express. The Airport Express runs on a single all stations pattern, while the City Circle runs all stations and limited stops services.

Line headways

Note: 'Peak hour' is defined as the times of 7:00am to 9:30am (morning peak) and 5:00pm to 7:30pm (evening peak).

Line	Peak headway	Non-peak headway
City Circle	2 mins (30 tph)	5 mins (12 tph)
North-South Line	3 mins (20 tph)	6 mins (10 tph)
Downtown Line	3 mins (20 tph)	6 mins (10 tph)
Northern Line	4 mins (15 tph)	8 mins (7.5 tph)
Lake Line	5 mins (12 tph)	10 mins (6 tph)
Waratah Line	5 mins (12 tph)	10 mins (6 tph)
Stuart Line	6 mins (10 tph)	12 mins (5 tph)
Western Line	6 mins (10 tph)	12 mins (5 tph)
Eastern Line	10 mins (6 tph)	15 mins (4 tph)
Itsusen Line	4 mins (15 tph)	8 mins (7.5 tph)
Airport Express	2 mins (30 tph)	10 mins (6 tph)

Operating hours

Services operate from 4:00am to 1:00am the next day, with the remaining three hours every early morning to be used for trackwork and maintenance. Normally, most NotchRail services operate on a 'turn-up-and-go' schedule with more services during peak hours. On special event days and public holidays the timetables are changed to enable most lines to run for 24-hour periods.

Interchange stations

The NotchRail network has 31 interchange stations (not including branch junction stations, minor or virtual interchanges and turnback stations). Nine of the interchange stations are major interchanges, with connect at least three different lines.

Major Interchange Stations
Station	CC	L1	L2	L3	L4	L5	L6	L7	L8	L9	AE
Arenaville Airport
Castlebrook Airport
Central
City Hall
Downtown
Pete's Corner
Troll House
Waratah Park
Werrington

Ticketing

The NotchRail network uses the Obsidian contactless smartcard ticket system, replacing the old MyRail paper ticketing system.

There are five different types of reusable Obsidian cards, denoted by unique colours: Adult (black), Child/Youth (green), Senior/Pensioner (yellow), Concession (blue) and Student (silver).

Fares

The MyRail system used a per-line flat-fare system, meaning that a ticket is fixed in price no matter how far a passenger travelled along a line. However, with the introduction of the Obsidian card, fares are now distance-based.

Card	0–10 km	10–20 km	20–35 km	35–65 km	65 km+
Adult (peak)	$3.24	$4.35	$5.12	$6.47	$7.25
Adult (off-peak)	$2.27	$3.05	$3.58	$4.53	$5.08
Other (peak)	$1.62	$2.17	$2.56^	$3.23^	$3.62^
Other (off-peak)	$1.13	$1.52	$1.79	$2.26	$2.54^
Adult (single trip)	$4.20	$5.40	$6.60	$8.80	$11.00
Child/Youth (single trip)	$2.10	$2.70	$3.30	$4.40	$5.50

Note:

• 'Other' refers to Child/Youth, Senior/Pensioner and Concession cards.
• Students with a valid Student Obsidian card and a proof of ID can use the NotchRail network free of charge during school days and between 7am and 9pm.
• A $2.00 cap applies to all tickets (except single trip) on Sundays, and for pensioner cards any day of the week.

As a distance based system, Obsidian card users are required to tap on and tap off on all modes to ensure the correct fare is charged. If a user does not correctly tap off after tapping on, a default fare will be charged, which is equal to the maximum fare on that mode of travel. However, a lower default fare applies if it is not possible to reach the maximum fare on the route for which the tap on took place. On Sundays, the default fare is $2.50. The default fare will be charged after a time-out period of five hours from initial tap on or if the user changes modes or taps on at a gated station.

Usage

Usage surveys are conducted on the NotchRail network to help improve overcrowding. The results of a 2073 survey are shown here (incomplete).

NOTE: Average load percentages are calculated by Passengers/train ÷ Maximum (comfortable) train load. It is assumed that one car of a train can comfortably house 100 passengers and that when dealing with lines that operate different sets, the largest regularly operated set is used.

Sample stations are chosen by where the most passengers on a train is estimated to be at, choosing one station per line to sample trains from both directions. The sampling is conducted as the train arrives at the station, before the doors are opened and any passengers leave or enter the train.

Line	Average load
City Circle	109%
North-South Line	116%
Downtown Line	101%
Northern Line	97%
Lake Line	94%
Waratah Line	77%
Stuart Line	82%
Western Line	93%
Eastern Line	68%
Itsusen Line	99%
Airport Express	86%

The most crowded line is the Airport Express line, with 139% load rate. The City Circle and Pallet Line are tied for second, with 119% load rate each.

The least crowded line is the Achelous Line, with 56% and the second least is the Linford Line, with a mere 59%. The Allandale Line is the least crowded surburban line (67%)

Information and safety

Signage

Evolution of the NotchRail network.

The distinct NotchRail sign, present at the entrances of almost every NotchRail station, has been in place since 2015. Station name signs on the platforms are in English and Chinese.

Yellow lines

In 2052 as part of Project Revolution, all stations had yellow lines fitted at the edge of the platforms, to help promote safety around trains. Previously, only major stations had yellow lines on the platforms.

Short Platforms

Some stations have short platforms which only allow boarding or exiting from certain carriages (according to the set that normally serves the station/line).

Short platforms are assigned a rating. Ratings currently used are SPR2 (back 2 cars), SPF3 (front 3 cars), and SPM1 (middle car only).

Announcements and information systems

All trains have digital voice announcement (DVA) systems which activate announcements on information about the next station, etc. If the train has a guard, guards may also make announcements.

A majority of stations have destination indicator boards which show and update information about the next few trains.

Pickup, Setdown and Request stations

Some services will only pickup or setdown passengers at certain stations. This is to ensure passengers travelling to further away stations have enough room. Passengers should use the appropriate suburban service when applicable.

Some stations will only be stopped at if the guard is notified or on special event days. Below is a list of request only stations.

• Clock Tower (stops on request or special events)
• Haslem (stops on request on all stops services only)
• Macdonald Racecourse (stops on request or on race days, occasional regular timetable stops)

Network map

An important part of NotchRail's identity is its network map. The map is a schematic diagram of the network which is based on the Sydney Trains map in Sydney, Australia. It is currently in its 7th major revision. See NotchRail Network Map for more information.

The seventh version (created in 2075).

The Metro Rail map. As of v6, the Metro Monorail is separate from the NotchRail network map.

The eight version (current).

The current regional network map.

Projects

There have been several major projects in the history of NotchRail:

• Project NotchRail (1992 - 1995), the original plan for the NotchRail system (before construction even finished), including the first line (City Line) and other inner city improvements. The name of NotchRail originates from this project.
• Project Metro (2025 - 2033), a period of rapid construction of new lines despite the population growth slowing down slightly.
• Project Revolution (2052 - 2054), a major modernisation of the Notchropolis Railway system, including renaming of the network to NotchRail, revamping of signage and decor, walls, lighting, accessibility and cleaning, new rollingstock and station naming scheme and site choice, and extensions of current lines.
• Project Integration (2067 - 2070), extending current lines into the city (ie to Central) and providing more interchanges, since many NotchRail lines terminated on the outskirts of the city. Also upgraded were stations (repainted, added new decor, accessibility, etc.)
• Project Refurbishment (2073 - 2075), refurbishing old lines and stations.

Future

Extensions and new lines

As the city of Notchropolis always expanding, new lines and stations are built for the convenience of trav

Metro Monorail extension

Plans have emerged for the Metro Monorail to be extended from Animal Farm to City Museum (interchange with Dellfield Line).

New stations

There are often plans for new stations on already-built lines, due to growing development or other reasons. This is different from extensions, however, which involve building new track.

This list consists of new stations under planning or under construction.

• Northdale - between Kayumba and Silverdale on the McArthur Line
• Orchard Park - between Cartwright and Castlebrook Airport on the Castlebrook Line
• SAO Centre - between Courage Point and Moss Vale on the Riverview Line

See also

• JackRail
• List of NotchRail stations
• Metro Monorail