Airport Bullet Line


 * Not to be confused with Royal Plains Airport Bullet Line of Royal Plains, Torbury, and Airport Bullet Train Express of Archemedes, Gravenhurst.

Airport Bullet Line (Traditional Chinese: 機場子彈火車), officially the Airport High Speed Rail Link (Traditional Chinese: 機場高速鐵路, abbreviated as 機場高鐵 or simply as 機鐵) is a bullet train operating on monorail tracks by Human Transit Corporation in Torbury City of the Free State of Torbury. It is the first of its kind in the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas, offering a very rapid mode of transportation between Torbury Centre Terminal in Downtown Torbury and Torbury International Airport, which is located some 26 km northwest of the downtown core.

The line, despite operated by Human Transit Corporation, is not considered to be a part of SPRINT, the rapid transit network in Torbury City. It is rather a premium express service that operates at a frequency of every 12 - 15 minutes, 24 hours a day.

Operating on a set of monorail tracks, with the Japanese-manufactured Concept 1 trains being used on this line, trains on this line can travel up to 610 km/h. Though this has been established before, normal operations usually have an average speed of 310 km/h, which makes the journey between the airport and the city centre a mere 6-minute ride. Due to the rapid speed, the line has quickly gained popularity, as other competing modes of transportation, such as  SPRINT Autumn would require 28 minutes departing from Torbury Mezzo Terminal, or driving by private vehicle along Oakland Heights Expressway would require a 10 - 12 minute drive from the Appingham area.

The line is indicated as  Sky Blue  on the system maps of the Human Transit Corporation.

History
In the 1970s, as the City of Torbury is rapidly growing, talks of creating an international airport is increasing, to aid the city's commercial growth. There were several sites chosen, including at the former Torbury Ferry Terminal (now Torbury Intercity Terminal), and one at the present site. The present site did not have public transportation infrastructure readily available in the area. In the 1978, given preference of a larger airport and reserve-able space for future development, the current airport site is chosen. As such, a public transportation connection was imminent.

Initially, it was devised to construct a heavy rail line. The idea was evolved a few times, including light rail and bus rapid transit. In the end, the planning committee came to a solution of a monorail, given its speed and uniqueness globally. Along with this plan, a bus rapid transit network would be built along with it for passengers travelling to and from Midtown Torbury.

The monorail tracks were then laid through late 1980 to early 1984. This involved in clearing the dense woodland in the area, as well as acquiring lands of some outback villages, such as Lau Sha Au. Land acquisition of vacant parking lots and existing low density residential near the western part of Downtown Torbury was also needed in the process, and it was a challenge since it involved many landlords. This was the reason why track constructions took about 4 years, when it was scheduled to be done by 1982.

On June 22, 1983, the Torbury International Airport opened. Originally anticipated to be completed by this time, the track works were just halfway completed at that time. The bus rapid transit took all the traffic at that point, in which the BRT system became overly congested.

In February 1984, track works have largely completed. Constructions of station shelters, connections of pedestrian walkways to existing transportation facilities, etc. began immediately after in March 1984. Signalling also began constructions in June 1984.

A large winter storm dumped 3.6 cm of ice on the construction site in December 1984, damaging some parts of the rail. Repair quickly took place throughout Winter 1984-85, and the line was able to be opened on the airport's second anniversary.

Route
The rail link largely forms a L shape across Torbury City's landscape, following east-west along Horizontal Axis Road after leaving Torbury Centre Terminal, then has an almost 90-degree turn near Elmira Road, following the Elmira River north to Torbury International Airport. The entire track is 30.4 km long.

Fare Structure
A one-time fare of $64.6 Torbury Mun ($9.3 USD) is required for travel along its entire route towards the airport. If presented a valid air travel ticket, fees are waived travelling into the city, and $32.6 Torbury Mun ($4.65 USD) travelling into the airport.

Legacy
The success of the system has caused international attention. In particular, many cities in the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas imitate and model after this express airport service to better link the city centre to the airport. The Royal Plains Airport Bullet Line in Royal Plains is constructed with a similar manner by the Human Transit Corporation in 2009. The Airport Bullet Train Express, under construction by GO Transit in Archemedes, Gravenhurst, is also modelled after this system.

Various intercity train services begin to adopt monorail structures as well for rapid travel, and often model after this line as the Airport Bullet Line is one of the first monorail passenger line in the kingdom.

Operations
There are two convoys on this route, both are Japanese-manufactured Concept 1 trains.