North American Rail System

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The North American Rail System (NARS) is a vacuum tube train (or "vactrain") system which connects most government-sanctioned cities and settlements in North America. It is considered indispensable for the survival of the governments of North America, as well as literal survival for many smaller communities.

History[edit | edit source]

Vactrain systems had been in use in the United States for several decades prior to the release of Skyblanket. The Northeastern and Californian megalopoles featured vactrain systems that served several tens of thousands of passengers daily. Plans to connect the two systems, and eventually expand it to other major cities, was bitterly opposed by airline companies, hindering commencement until 2069. The coasts were connected in 2074 and ground broken that same year for new branches to Michigan, Texas, and Canada.

When Skyblanket began to wreak environmental havoc globally, policymakers in the United States continued to commit resources to the program. Knowing that surface travel would be difficult and slow, vactrains were determined to be the only way to keep the nation physically connected. The system is still being expanded to incorporate assimilated communities and to help cope with the growing population.

Routes[edit | edit source]

The original vactrain routes were in California and the Northeast. The first transcontinental route stopped in Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis, and Cincinnati before finally connecting to the Northeast system in Washington City. The Great Earthquake of 2098 destroyed almost every city on the West Coast, so the modern network stops at Denver.

Toronto was the first city outside of the United States to be connected, which was a simple matter as it was already considered to be a satellite of the Northeast megalopolis by then. Mexico City was connected to the network in 2090, and Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City in 2092, 2093, and 2094 respectively. Plans to connect Vancouver fell through following the Great Earthquake.