Mars East line

The Mars East Line is a planned railway line from Mars Station east to Mars Mountain Town (as yet unsettled). It will operate a passenger service; names are still up for suggestion but "Red Rock Express" does sound good.

Construction

Proposed route

The route will be a normal surface railway without oxygenation, at least for its initial construction. Passengers will need space suits for travel. The route proceeds east from Mars Station, from the existing short railway there, first east then southeast to a gap in the mountains. From the gap it will travel first almost due east for a while, then turn southeast, and finally back to straight east and terminate under the mountain. Slope is quite minimal, so only one bridge is needed and the only tunnel is directly beneath the mountain. The track will be ballasted with gravel.

The route will be only single track, with passing loops at the stations. If further construction occurs and makes the East Line a mainline, more duplication can be added as needed.

Stations

The project will add 3 new stations. One at the mountain gap, one on a plain, and one at the mountain city. Proposed names are "The Gap", "Ares Plain" and "Mountain Town".

Affected stakeholders

• admin/BuckarooBanzay - Mars station. Needs to give access to link to the existing station.
• Unknown: Tall building in valley, tracks pass just north of it. Not protected, owner unknown. Might have been there for years, permission probably not needed?
• Arsk: Immediately off the existing tracks in Mars Station, as it starts to go east. Last-login: 2019-09-20. No visible structure above ground, justprotectors. Offline for a very long time, also hasn't touched the surface, so can probably arrange access.
• Kosha: Large building, tracks pass just south of it. Last-login: 2021-12-02. Should be asked to approve since they are recently active.
• Thimli: Travelnet, mine site just north of the tracks, on the west side of the desert sandstone mountain gap. Last-login: 2021-12-06. Active player, but also, doesn't seem to intend to settle. Probably do not need to ask permission.
• gummybear: Huge land claim east side of the desert sandstone mountains. Nothing notable above ground. Can this claim be reassessed downwards? Last-login: 2019-09-24.
• LittleFire: Mining outpost on a hill near where the track turns from generally east to generally southeast. Not that close, I don't think permission is needed. Last-login: 2021-09-03 though structure appears older with area ID 2043 (current is 13500ish).
• korlen: Owner of the travelnet at Mars Mountain Town and Olduvai. Last-login: 2021-08-12. Not sure if permission needed? I have already built an oxygenated room there and the station is deep underneath the surface plateau. Also the travelnet always seemed like an invitation to settle.