Maritime Station
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| Maritime Station | |
|---|---|
 Official logo. | |
| Vital statistics | |
| Name | Maritime Station |
| Address | 4 Baymouth Road, Crawford |
| Lines | Antarctic Express |
| Connections | None |
| Platforms | Many |
| Tracks | Many |
| Opened | Unofficially: March 12, 2001 Official: June 6, 2003 |
| Built | Original Terminal: 2003 Main Terminal: 2007 Dorkugese Connection Tunnel: 2009 |
| Code | CLUB |
| Owned by | Antarctic Express |
| Fare Zone | 1000 - 5000 coins} |
| Services | Antarctic Express |
| Website | maritime.gov.cp |
Maritime Station is a subway station in King George's Island, serving Club Penguin Island, and is the starting point of the Antarctic Express tracks. Originally part of the Maritime Circuit, it was redeveloped in 2003, closed in 2004 and reopened in 2007 following CP's thriving economy.
Located near Crawford, the Maritime Station compound covers an entire square metre and is managed by the Antarctic Express. In the compound contains the Departure Hall, the Arrival Hall and the Interchange. Trains enter Maritime Station every minute and the station serves more than 120 million penguins yearly.
The tunnel connecting Maritime Station and Dorkugal is known as the Underrail, a scientific breakthrough in drilling.
History
Maritime Station was originally conceptualised in 1982 as a port of the same name. The idea was shelved when the Water Kingdom focused on Shiverpool instead.
In 1991, when King George's Island became the new capital of Colonial Antarctica, the King proposed a train line to serve the entirety of Antarctica, connecting the cities to Maritime Station. At the time, aviation was not popular and ships were the main transport.
Maritime Station was built within the course of three years, and by the time it was completed in 1994, Colonial Antarctica was already experiencing a revolution. Serving only Loyalist-occupied areas, the circuit eased communication between ministers and adivisors from different areas. However, in 1996, Maritime Station was raided by Loyalists, transforming it into a makeshift headquarters. The station was destroyed when Loyalists launched missiles on the building dessurecting it completely.
In 2000, the USA government wanted to connect Penguin Chat to the rest of Antarctica as the island started to gain more and more visitors. Boat travel was the most common transport as the Club Penguin International Airport had not been built, nor was the regional airport. Therefore, the USA government proposed the construction of a train terminal to serve as the new starting line of the Antarctic Express. They used the old train building in Crawsford to serve as a temporary train terminal while the two entire towns' adult population helped out with the construction of the terminals.
On the 2nd of June, 2003, Terminal One, later renamed Original Terminal, opened to the public at the new compound in 4 Baymouth Road near Crawsford. The official opening was two days later, which saw a first day opening of 100,000 passengers. By the end of 2003, the station would serve a million passengers daily.
In 2005, the average ridership number went up to 7,000,000. As the terminal's capacity was only three million, all of the shops within the Waiting Area were shifted to a nearby field to make space in the platform. A thousand coins booking fee was also imposed on ticketing machines, encouraging penguins to log on to the Antarctic Express's website to book them. The shops eventually moved back on April 2, 2007.
In 2006, the Dorkugese Connection Terminal, opened. However, instead of the DCT, penguins often used a new transport system known as the Waterrider, a train configured to be able to float in water, riding on Watertracks. The entire project cost about seventeen hundred billion coins, taking a significant amount of the federal budget for that year. Average ridership number for the DCT was only three million and, as of 2011, 300,000. With train ridership plummeting, the station was thought to close in 2012 or 2013. However, it didn't, as the ridership went back high when the "water train" sank.
The next day, the Main Terminal, commonly dubbed the Milan Express, opened to the public. It had a capacity of "over nine million", according to the official press report. However, most of the rolling stock in the Antarctic Express were supposedly "too small" for the station, a fault that was discovered too late. Eventually, the track was closed and penguins had to continue using the Original Terminal before a set of new tracks were placed the following week. Average ridership numbers amounted to ten million daily for the Main Terminal, while only three million passengers used the Original Terminal complex.
By 2011, Maritime Station was one of the most popular train stations in Antarctica, placing #2 in the Antarctica's Most Crowded Train Stations right after Grand Central Station in South Pole City.
In August 2012, the station underwent an upgrade to accommodate the rising number of passengers. The upgrade was completed in January 2016. An additional 6 tracks were built, 2 for trains going to Dorkugal, 2 for the Club Penguin Monorail (as part of the Club Penguin Island Upgrading Project) and the remainder for Antarctic Express trains. Total capacity - 20 million penguins a year.
During this period, operations remained as usual.
Compound
The compound is thirteen square kilometres and took seven years to build. There are three terminals: Original Terminal (the original), Main Terminal (the new modernised one) and the Dorkugese Connection Terminal.
Original Terminal
The Original Terminal, or Terminal One opened in 2003 while the Main Terminal was still undergoing construction. There are three areas: the Ticketing Hall, the Waiting Area and the Platform. Originally, it was where all trains running along the Antarctic Express stopped at, but with the opening of the Main Terminal, the Original Terminal served only 20% of passengers.
The Ticketing Hall is a hall full of ticketing machines, as if it were a casino. In 2010, 695 of the 705 ticketing machines were moved to the Main Terminal, as stores populated the extra space. The Waiting Area consists of stores such as McDoodle's, GoodyMart and Frys Chalet. Some local stores such as Design Emporium are located here as well.
Lastly, the Platform is a huge platform holding up to seven hundred penguins. There is a bridge connecting it to the other platform. There are two tracks: one for trains going in the west and one for trains going towards the east. Soda machines and chairs are scattered around the area.
Main Terminal
The Main Terminal, or the Milan Express dubbed by the locals, opened in 2007. There are two areas to this: the first serving most of the trains and the second serving special and irregular train services.
The complex a humongous shopping mall-esque hall with tons of shops, most of which are locally owned. Seven hundred ticketing stations are located all around the all, the first floor being an open area for most passengers to walk through. At the north tip of the large hall is the Immigration centre where penguins access an extremely huge platform with two tracks beside it.
The second storey leads to another building serving special or irregular train services. The building, an abandoned multi-story carpark as it was not used often, is about a kilometre away and only the second storey is occupied. Trains go through two tracks on either side of the storey. Many of these trains are from the Itenroid Circuit.
In the third storey of the main building, penguins could take the local city train service to Crawford where a port helps transport them to Club Penguin's Dock.
Dorkugese Connection Terminal (DCT)
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The Dorkugese Connection Terminal opened in 2006 to serve trains going to Dorkugal. Even though Dorkugal is the station right after Maritime, Dorkugal acts more as a second starting point and does not go to Maritime Station unless through the DCT. Most of the building has since been ceded as part of the Main Terminal.