Monmouth Line
| Monmouth Line | |
|---|---|
 Ex-Amtrak F40PH #243 arriving at Monmouth. | |
| Overview | |
| Status | Active |
| Owner | House Hold Rail Road (tracks) |
| Locale | Saytok, Satago, Bismarck |
| Termini | |
| Stations | 5 |
| Service | |
| Type | Commuter rail |
| System | House Hold Rail Road |
| Operator(s) | House Hold Rail Road |
| Rolling stock | F40PH, P42, Coaches |
| Daily ridership | 60 (November 2021) |
| History | |
| Opened | 9 October 2021 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 74 mi (119 km) |
| Number of tracks | 2 |
| Track gauge | HO |
| Operating speed | 75 mph (121 km/h) |
Monmouth Line is a planned commuter rail service between Htols, Satago and Èadalqa, Saytók. It will use a newly built right of way between Redlands and Htols. The project will replace a recently close commuter rail line running between Redlands and Satago. The project is a joint venture between the region of Saytók and the federal government. The service is planned to begin in May 2022.
Service history
Previous service
In July 2010 House Hold Rail Road start operation as the Kingdom of House Hold's national rail service. Train service stated with the opening of the Southern Line between 1st Street and Grand Central. The line used Metro North and Long Island Rail Road colored Bombardier M7s. The service proved very successful, blowing past ridership estimates and ending the year with a total of 98 riders.
In February 2011 two new lines opened, the Hall Line running from North Hall to Grand Central, and the Cribston Line running from Northport to Grand Central. The Hall Line was used manly be commuter and the Cribston Line was mainly used by cross-country travelers. Both lines helped House Hold Rail Road end the year with a total of 145 riders, an increase of 48.0%, however the two new lines did not meet expectations and were many subsidized by the Southern Line.
2012 saw a huge year for House Hold Rail Road, the railroad ended the year with 309 riders, up 113.1% and exceeded expectations. All three lines were profitable in 2012.
In July 2013 House Hold Rail Road opened the new 2nd Ave Line. The line ran from East Library to Grand Central. This helped fuel an 125.6% growth in ridership and helped House Hold Rail Road end the year with 697 riders. Ridership was up 711.2% from the opening in 2010.
In January studies were underway for the creation of a new line. In February, HHRR's ridership was at nearly 10 each weekday and continued to grow. Up to 35 trains ran a day up and down HHRR's 4 Lines. The giant decline in ridership started in August 2014 just one month after House Hold Rail Road's best month on record. In November House Hold Rail Road saw a 80% cut in it's budget and closed the Hall and Cribston Lines. After a rise in ridership early 2015 ridership plummeted in early 2015 and the 2nd Ave Line closed in March. By April 2015 the final line, the Southern Line closed as well.
Plans to revive service
In the summer of 2018 several House Holdian politicians floated the idea of bring back HHRR service the House Hold's largest city at the time, Bunn. Test trains were run but passenger service never started.
Original Plans
On 22 June 2022 House Hold Prime Minister Enia Hyena announced that House Hold Rail Road would be reopening with fully electric HO scale model trains. The planned called for 10 daily round trips between Parliament Hill and Htols. A draft plan was announced in late July 2021 trains were to operate in 3 lines, the Èadalqa Line, Cribston Line, and Brunswick Line. Service was original scheduled to start on 18 September 2021 but due to a shortage in passenger coaches, track, and a still under work schedule on 1 September 2021 the opening date was pushed back to October 9. The final plan was announced on 22 September 2021. The final planned merged the Èadalqa and Cribston Lines into the Main Line or Monmouth Line. The Brunswick Line was renamed to the Brunswick Branch and service to Brentwood was canceled.
Test and Demonstrator service
The first test on the House Hold Rail Road Main Line took place on 21 September 2021. At that point trains had been undergoing test for nearly two months all over small sections of HHRR's track. The tests showed all trains were ready for commuter service. On 22 September 2022 trains started following the official schedule, these tests have show that the equipment can keep up with demand and the schedule.
In September 2021, Prime Minister Hyena signed a bill ordering various studies, including one that analyzed extending service to Cribston as had been originally planned. Before the study was completed, HHRR announced service to Cribston would start in 2022. Starting in February 2022, four round trips per weekday will be extended to Cribston.
Former Lines
- The 2nd Ave Line ran from East Library to Grand Central.
- The Southern Line ran from 1st Street to Grand Central.
- The Hall Line ran from North Hall to Grand Central.
- The Cribston Line ran from Northport to Grand Central.
Closer of the rebuilt line
On 18 January the line was closed for the construction of the new right of way as part of a deal with local communities, however many local commuter were upset with decision and several protests have taken place along the line in opposition to the lines closer.
Operation
The service is proposed to operate around fifteen round-trips during each day: seven between 3:30 and 5, three between 5 and 6, and five between 6 and 9. An end-to-end ride is estimated to take about 7 minutes, and there would be stops at Redlands, Èadalqa, West Satago, and Monmouth-University of House Hold. There will be only 10 round trips on week.
Although HHRR is largely privately funded, it is operated by the House Hold government. A September 2021 estimate that HHRR was near 50% privately funded.
During the 2022 election House Hold Rail Road will operate the special "Rails to the Polls" service. Candidates and party representatives will be on board train and riders can ask questions. The final stop on the train will be the national early voting center at Parliament Hill.
Operation
The Monmouth Lines has 40 commuter trains on weekdays. 26 of these are express that do not stop at Monmouth, with the remaining 14 continuing stopping at Monmouth. Additionally, Bus service 10 buses to and from Cribston is provided.
Ridership statistics
| HHRR Ridership by Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 2010 | 98 | — |
| 2011 | 145 | +48.0% |
| 2012 | 309 | +113.1% |
| 2013 | 697 | +125.6% |
| 2014 | 1,418 | +103.4% |
| 2015 | 38 | −97.3% |
| 2016 | 0 | −100.0% |
| 2018 | 0 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 0 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 0 | 0.00% |
| 2021 | N/A | — |
| Information taken from every year | ||
Rolling stock
In contrast to the wooden toy trains of the past, all modern HHRR trains are ho scale model train diesel push-pull trains.
HHRR purchased Amtrak P42DC #203 in July 2021. In Mid-July, HHRR purchased 3 Pullman Bi-Level Coaches from the Chicago Commuter Rail Metra. HHRR acquired an additional GE P42DC locomotive from Amtrak in late July 2021.
In August 2021, HHRR purchased 6 Bombardier Shoreliner III coaches. These coaches arrived in early December 2021..
In September, HHRR took delivery of one F59PHI diesel locomotive. HHRR purchased two Ex-Amtrak F40PHs in September 2021. HHRR acquired 3 more coaches in September 2021
HHRR intends to use the EX-Amtrak P42s for service to Cribston
Roster
| Builder | Model | Photo | Active | Road numbers | Year Acquired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locomotives | ||||||
| GE | P42DC | 
|
2 | 19, 203 | 2021 |
|
| GE | ES44AC | 
|
1 | 5391 | Used for both track work and passenger service. For service to Parliament Hill only. | |
| EMD | F59PHI | 1 | 84 | 2 more planned for revenue service | ||
| EMD | F40PH | 2 | 243, 268, 6436, 6460 |
| ||
| Coaches | ||||||
| Pullman | Bi-Level | 
|
9 |
|
2021 |
|
| Mafersa | Coaches | 
|
11 | Ex-Shore Line East. 7 Ex-DLR | ||
| Budd | Amfleet I | 
|
2 | 81527 | 1 Ex-DLR | |
Station stops
Limited service is available to Monmouth.
Monmouth Line
| Feetpost | Region | Borough | Station | Connections | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | BM | Salem | Salem | Opening December 2021 or Early 2022 | |
| 6 | Northport | Terminus for most afternoon trains | |||
| 0 | Cribston | Trailblazer: Cribston Shuttle | Local trains only | ||
| 10 | SA | Satago | Parliament Hill | HHRR: Brunswick Line, Capitol Line
Trailblazer: Cribston Shuttle |
Terminus for northbound morning trains |
| 22 | Monmouth | HHRR: Brunswick Line, Capitol Line
Trailblazer: Uni Shuttle |
Local trains only | ||
| 37 | ST | Èadalqa | Èadalqa | HHRR: Wagga Line | Terminus for most trains |
| 45 | Redlands | HHRR: Wagga Line | Opening December 2021 or Early 2022 |
