Nevensad Metro
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Overview | |||||||||
Owner | Nevensad City Authority (infrastructure) | ||||||||
Area served | Nevensad northern Sayageyel southern Meigen southern Tomogeyel | ||||||||
Locale | Nevensad | ||||||||
Number of lines | 11 heavy rail, bus, *tram* | ||||||||
Line numbers | 12 (numbered 1-11 and 3a) | ||||||||
Daily ridership | 3.13 million (2016) | ||||||||
Annual ridership | 1.14 billion (2016) | ||||||||
Website | metro.nevensad.sy | ||||||||
Operation | |||||||||
Began operation | 1937 | ||||||||
Operator(s) | Nevensad Transport | ||||||||
Train length | 90 or 135 m (6 or 9 units) | ||||||||
Technical | |||||||||
System length | ~500 km | ||||||||
Tracks | 2 | ||||||||
Track gauge | 1.435 m / 4' 8.5" | ||||||||
Minimum curvature radius | 75 m | ||||||||
Electrification | 750 V DC third rail | ||||||||
Average speed | 30 km/h | ||||||||
Top speed | 95 km/h |
The Nevensad Metro (Sanain: Nevensad Metro or Nevensad Metropolitãn) is the metropolitan rapid-transit system serving the Nevensad Metro Area. Opened in 1928, it has 12 lines (the most of any system in the country), and connects both the various districts of the city and Nevensad itself with National Railways, the ESMA local high-speed rail system, and the IntraCity national systems.
With over 4 million daily passengers, the Metro is the second-busiest in the nation after the Sãikyel City Metro, but, because of an infrastructure boom after the Sanain War, it is the most expensive to operate, and has the most lines of any metro system.
History
Plans to build a metro system for the city of Nevensad had been in the making since about 1917, when the City Government began a contest to find the optimal design for a two-line "metropolitan rail" (metropolitãnezin). The winning design, submitted by the team of architect Kalhulai Edeyev (who also designed the famous Sãikyel Varvezyek Train Station), was to pass through the urban core of the city from the northern village of Fiotto to Teki Han, which were at that time outside of the urban area. This line was to cross over the Niva through Iryalde at the Lanyamo roundabout, and continue on the right bank of the river. The second line was to take a perpendicular route, from Haganak to Ladni Boulevard.
These plans were put on hold as production turned towards militarization directly before the war. It was only in 1937, about 20 years after the original plans were set out, that construction began on the lines. By that time, however, new towns and suburbs had expanded beyond the scope of the original lines. During construction, the N1 and N2 were extended to Komusy, Ardolosy, Guzumvolop and Piosy, respectively. The N3 was opened to the public in 1940, running from Kazfaltoo to Imbrimi, and was extended in 1943 down to Senver. Through the post-war years up to 1970, the system almost tripled in size.
The N4 was in planning by 1945, but since two lines were already running in the area that it was meant to cut through, it was moved down from Senio to Bodyoki Han to provide service for the newer southwestern suburbs. Together with the high-speed ESMA-1 railway, it provides transportation to these areas today. The N5 was constructed at the same time to run parallel to the N2 (largely because the N2 was overcrowded and did not provide satisfactory services to the northern city center at Nagu), originally from Audasy to Samopoduid, but was extended in 1960 up to Aleilud (the station is called "Aleilud Burbani") and west to Holyona, anticipating the connection with the ESMA-1 three years later, in 1963. It was then further extended to service the two railway stations at Nevensad International.
The 1970's and early 80's saw the construction of three new lines, pushed into place by Prime Minister Medan Kerlov's policy of "build now, check later." The N6, N7, and N8 were planned to form a ring around the city, joining each other at the important towns of Sabli, Rohpuoo, and Paidon uzy Nivas. New urban centers began to grow around stops on the "Metro Beltway", which contributed to more need for lines running into the city center from surrounding areas. By this time, ESMA-1 and ESMA-2, the regional high-speed network lines, had grown out of the rapidly-urbanizing Nevensad-Felosad-Gau urban complex, but were not well-connected to the metro system. Transfer stations already existed at Holyona, Uibodra (south Mailontivi), and Nevensad-Mako train station. The N8 saw the opening of a new transfer station, Haganak. In addition, the N9 was opened, again running through the city and parallel to the N2 and N5 lines, and connected the suburb of Nokti with Volaut, in the north. This provided a new connection to the international airport. The short N10 opened in 1984, between Garuk in the west and Yussyetvonk Sentep, a popular retail area. The N11 was the last line to be built in the 20th century, opening in 1992 from Akil in the northeast to Kartodrum.
In 2006, the latest metro line, the N3a, was opened, connecting the N3 by Lagyfu (though not at the station) and the N4 at Senio.