Kalistani Major History

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Kalistan prepares to link National Rail System to Lodamun
New Rail Bridge to be build alongside Jah River Friendship Bridge
Addisjah, Vrassa
April 17, 5320


A new cargo train link is being constructed to add two additional commercial tracks next to Friendship Bridge

In preparation for a greater degree of commercial and trade integration with Northern Seleyan states Lodamun and Valruzia, Kalistan has begun expansion of the rail link across the Jah River to offer more service into Lodamun. According to the Republican policy, freight trains and passenger trains must run on separate tracks. Much of the National Railway is quad tracked, except in particularly close mountainous regions and places which do not permit passenger service.

The Friendship Bridge, however, is only dual tracked. Infrastructure minister Jerome Delgado stated the reason for this: "The Jah River is notoriously difficult to build across, let alone the myriad of reasons why there was no progress on the bridge on a political front. It was a monumental feat 600 years in the making to finish the bridge in the first place, and most of the delay was Lodamun's refusal to finish their side of the bridge." But in 4902, the bridge was completed to allow limited passenger and freight service between Addisjah and Ellington in Norstavan Lodamun. A planned road link was abandoned due to Lodamun's banning of automobiles, and the trains, primarily operated on electricity, began serving as the passenger and freight connections.

That link has served for about 400 years, and has made Addisjah a popular depot for international trade. Each day, more than 30 trains make their way back and forth across the bridge, loading and unloading cargo and transporting passengers from both sides of the border for transshipment to different parts of the respective nations. Naval transport about super freighters does not match efficiency of the Friendship Bridge, even now. But as Kalistan and Lodamun prepare to expand their rail links to other nations in Northern Seleya, Kalistan has decided to begin another two lanes to reserve for Cargo transport alone, moving the Freindship Bridge's purpose to simply passenger travel. "We have hit a ceiling of what we can do with just two lanes," said Delgado. "We are already seeing backlogs and delays in passenger crossings, When Valruzia and hopefully other countries join the train agreement, we will see a major uptick in usage of that crossing. The investment we make today in building new infrastructure will pay off many multiple times in the coming years."

The new bridge, which is expected to cost Kalistan 48.2 Million KRB over the next three years, will add two dedicated freight lanes to the Friendship Bridge, so that trains crossing the bridge do not have to wait for a lane to clear. Passenger transit will be dramatically improved as there will not be waits to cross the border. Meanwhile, the depot system where Kalistani freight trains need to be unloaded and reloaded onto bridge transit trains as there is room will no longer exist as freight trains will now simply cross the bridge to unload or to carry on to further destinations. This should speed up freight delivery times significantly and dramatically decrease cargo prices over the border."

Kalistan has already begun constructing the additional lanes, and has begun sinking pillars in Kalistan's side of the muddy boggy Jah. The concrete work on Kalistan's side should be completed by October of 5321, after which point, the Bridge will be expanded to four lanes. "We shall do everything we can to encourage Lodamun to match this effort on their side, including Loans, technical support, and diplomatic encouragement," said Delgado. "Expansion of trade is key for Kalistan's revitalization, and we look forward to continuing to work with Lodamun."