Axdel: Difference between revisions

Axdel has an extensive network of serviceable roadway that connects to practically every part of the country. The system is interlinked with highways that connect internationally to Emberwood coast, Morstaybishlia and Oceansend as part of the larger Auroran highway network. Axdel is part of the Auroran free movement zone and no customs check is required for crossing borders by any means, including road. Most new cars on the road are imported, with the majority coming from other Auroran car manufacturers, although the domestic automobile market makes up a significant fraction. The road network is publicly funded and operates without tolls, with vehicle, road and fuel tax contributing towards its maintenance. Road freight, primarily transported by lorries, is a major source of road wear, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in Axdel.

Axdels railway network is one of the most extensive and well developed in Aurora. It is maintained and operated on by the state owned railway company ARC, with other operators also running on the network for international high-speed services. High-speed track that allow trains to reach up to 350km/h connects most large cities, and inter-urban lines connect a large proportion of the nations towns with regular service. Rail connections exist between every country that borders Axdel and like the roadways requires no customs check. Intraurban systems are also very common, with most cities and large towns having ARC operated metro and/or tram systems to compliment local buses. The majority of the network uses standard gauge track, much of it being electrified using a combination of 25kV AC overhead catenaries and 750V DC third rail standards.

Axdel has a very long coastline with numerous ports along both the Azure and West seas as well as a number of navigable riverways and canals. The rivers and their interconnected canals serve as important arteries for freight and the transport or bulk goods. In the industrial era, Axdels canal network expanded to become one of the largest and most intensively used in the world in order to supply the Morstaybishlian empire with iron and coal. However most of these canals have now been demolished, and are now only used recreationally.

There are a large number of airports in Axdel, with Winston Ulysses International on the outskirts of Andel being the busiest in the country. Axdelia Air is the national flag carrier, with several other private companies also serving domestic and international flights.

====Recent Developmental History====

Whilst under the Morstaybishlian empire, the duty of developing Axdels infrastructure was the responsibility of competing private companies. Compared to the rest of the mainland empire, Axdel often lagged behind in terms of development, but immensely benefited from projects to facilitate access to the regions mineral wealth during the industrial era. With the massive governmental reforms following the end of the Great war, Axdel gained significantly more autonomy and rapidly caught up in terms of its infrastructure. However the relatively low income of the average Axdelian meant that automobile ownership was low and that as air travel became popular it was generally unaffordable. When Axdel gained independence in 1969 and the provisional government took control of all the countries infrastructure, it invested into constructing a huge number of cheaply made and easily repaired freight railways in order to facilitate the efficient movement of goods across the country for the war effort. Many highways were also built during the war, all of which had wide, long straights at various points that were mandated to be capable of allowing military aircraft to land and take off safely.

With an oil price crisis, a bomb damaged, lacklustre infrastructure network, and a low income populace without widespread access to automobile and air transport, the post-war government commissioned a vast, nationwide transit project focusing on railways. This included the electrification, modernisation and expansion of intraurban and commuter services for workers, as well as the construction of thousands of kilometers of new metro systems in dense urban areas and high-speed rail track for intercity journeys that would serve as an alternative to air travel. This would also provide tens of thousands of high paying jobs across the country for the recently demobilised populace. The ultimate goal of the project was to vastly increase the efficiency and capacity of the rail network, reduce the overall cost of its maintenance and operation, and reduce Axdels dependence on imported automobiles and petroleum for its transportation. Almost all of the new railways were electrified thanks to the high capacity of the hydroelectric and nuclear energy plants in place or under construction across the country. Criticism often came with the demolishing of neighbourhoods, both damaged and undamaged by the war, for the construction of new railway and metro lines, including several historic buildings. The cost of the project was also immense, requiring a noticeable percentage of Axdelian copper wire, steel and concrete production to satisfy the construction. As both Lyrevale and Quartz fern coast were reintegrated into Axdel the scope of the project was increased to adjust for it, and aside from a halt during the late 90's, it has continued to the present day.