Technical Specifications
For ground transportation across the Empire and Quenardya, the fastest and best means available is the maglev train. These are streamlined trains that use electromagnets to float above a track inside a closed tube, usually underground in cities and elevated on pylons in open country. (There are two additional guide rails at the upper corners of the tube, also equipped with electromagnets, so that the train is braced from all sides.)
The train has no direct contact with any solid surface, so the only friction it experiences is from wind resistance inside the tube. Vacuum pumps help to keep the air pressure in the tube down to about a third of normal atmospheric pressure, which reduces friction even more. The end result is that maglev trains are able to travel very, very fast — up to 800 km/hr when riding cross-country.
Usage/Stations
Maglev lines link Metamor City with all major metropolitan areas in the Empire and Quenardya, with additional side-branches to Yesulam and Whales (the latter courtesy of one of the longest bridges in the world). Fares are relatively cheap for personal travel, thanks to the high volume of traffic, and this is the preferred method of cross-country and inner-city travel for most citizens of the Empire. Large amounts of cargo are also transported along the maglev lines.