Commencement and Unexpected Events

To prove that the infrastructure plan was not just empty talk, the government, urged on by Arthur, began construction on several of its major projects. These included subway projects in Sydney, Melbourne, and Saint Arthur's Fort.

Subways were extremely important for large cities. They could not only speed up the movement of people within a city, but also make connections between different parts of a sprawling metropolis far more convenient.

Take Sydney as an example. Without a subway, even by car, it would take more than two hours to travel from the southernmost part of Sydney to the northernmost.

If there were traffic jams along the way or the flow of people was particularly heavy, the journey would take even longer, greatly reducing the convenience of communication within the city.

The subway, however, had no traffic-jam troubles. It could weave freely beneath the city, and every train could carry hundreds or even thousands of passengers, accelerating the movement of people within the city.

Still, building railways underground was quite difficult. Aside from constructing subway stations underground, they also had to ensure that the tunnels were extremely stable and would not collapse because of various problems.

After all, this was a major construction project championed by the government. If something went wrong with its quality, it would deal a heavy blow to the government's reputation.

Construction on the subways in the three cities would certainly not begin all at once. Sydney's subway would serve as Australasia's pilot project.

After all, subway technology was still relatively unfamiliar to Australasia. The country had to gather its railway experts and ensure the subway's safety and stability.

The underground environment was no safer than the surface. If an accident occurred below ground, not only would rescue efforts be difficult, but the death rate would also