Shintetsu
Harmony Rail Transit (Lamtsu)
| Locale | Lamtsu |
|---|---|
| Transit Type | Railways |
| Ridership | 8.5 million (daily) 1.825 billion (yearly) |
| Number of lines | Ome Line
Yamate Line Chuo Main Line Sakuho Line Kujukuri Line Mihara Line Namboku Line Hakone Line Tozai Line |
| Track gauge | 1435mm |
|---|---|
| Electrification | 97.2% |
Harmony Rail Transit (Lamtsu) was established in 1972 in Lamtsu to construct and operate Harmony Rail Transit lines in non-Joban Hon Kwong Province. HRT Lamtsu is the primary rail operator in Lamtsu Capital City after the takeover of MRT Corporation (Former MCR), but has since lost it's complete dominance of the market after the 2022 Antitrust lawsuit that broke off all the non-railroad operations such as the Tai Hing ferries and the Misato City Tram, and the formation of the new MRT and LRT Corporations.
History
Beginnings
HRT Lamtsu started operations in Lamtsu with the Sakuho Line, the first subway line in Lamtsu. Built using tunnel boring machines, the Sakuho Line is famous for having the fastest speed among all the inner-city lines in Lamtsu, with today's trains reaching speeds of 160km/h. This is due to the amazingly straight routes and wide curve radii that was not affected by the terrain. The Sakuho Line was an instant hit with commuters from the south-east, who would use the line as a bypass to the overcrowded Yamate Line en-route to Misato. Passengers from the North-East on the Tozai Line would also use the line to get to Misato station.
Within the first year of it's operation, the Sakuho Line already had 109 Million rides, or 15% of the total ridership of all the lines in Lamtsu. The resulting decline in ridership along the Yamate Line, and the loss of passenger traffic at Lamtsu, resulted in even more lines being built to Misato, including the initial phase of the Mihara Line, which would only extend to Lamtsu in 2021. This caused a huge drop in profits for the MCR, and the resulting slowdown in new developments and lines would result in an ever greater profit loss later. HRT acquired the Kujukuri Line in 1976, connecting it to the Sakuho line, and allowing it to finally turn a profit.
With the massive amounts of funding from HRT in Joban (then Joestu), the Mihara Line was completed a whole year ahead of schedule, and this put HRT as a solid competitor to MCR in 1982.
Overtaking MCR
The next few lines were all constructed by HRT (Lamtsu). The first stage of the Ome Line (then part of the Mihara Line) was completed in 1998, extending services from Mihara to the town of Hayakawa. at this time, of the 5 million daily rides, 1.3 million were on HRT Lines. Noticing this, MCR decided to block any new rail connections to Misato station, in an effort to offset the passenger traffic loss from the Sakuho Line and redirect more passengers to the Yamate Line. Thus, the newly built Chuo Main Line had to terminate at Otaki instead of Misato, and later extended to Fukauara. The Chuo Main line was completed in 2004.
The Mihara Line was extended to Tai Hing in 2008, with the section from Mihara to Hayakawa designated as the Mihara Line Hayakawa Branch. The Kansai Main Line was completed in 2012, yet another HRT project. This line connected to the Chuo Main Line at Shin-Okubo, and finally, HRT overtook MCR in terms of total ridership, with 4.5 of the 7.3 million daily rides. HRT acquired MCR in late 2016, and from there, the Lamtsu ridership skyrocketed due to the unification between the 2 systems. The Kansai Main Line was extended to Misato, the Namboku Line to Hayakawa, and the Mihara branch was extended to Ome and renamed the Ome Line, later getting it's own dedicated track to Misato in 2016. The Tozai Line almost doubled in length and was extended to Miyama in the east and Kakoro in the west.