Repairs Interrupt Starilaskur-Sterngate Lightning Rail

STARILASKUR—House Orien said on Wir that avalanche-clearing operations north of Sterngate would prevent lightning rails from traveling south into Zilargo for at least another week.

Station master Laara d’Orien said that the House had teams of excavators working around the clock to clear rockfalls that buried the lightning rail path at several points in the foothills of the northern Seawall Mountains.

“We expect some rail maintenance delays every spring, but the extent of the avalanches is unprecedented,” she said. “The Starilaskur-Korranberg route is important to us, and we want to restore service as soon as possible.”

The House is compensating ticket holders unable to travel as planned, she said. And House Orien is using the opportunity to unveil a new service: “Splendor Caravans.” The caravans feature comfortable horse-drawn passenger coaches and many of the amenities that lightning rail passengers expect.

“The roads along the Seawall Mountains are in fine shape, and we know that for a lot of our passengers, the journey is as important as the destination. The Splendor Caravans are slower than the lightning rail, true, but they’re a luxurious experience,” d’Orien said.

The Splendor Caravans run between Starilaskur and Sterngate, where lightning rail cars trapped on the far side of the avalanches take passengers to Zolanberg and Korranberg. The journey takes 10 days.

House Orien may eventually add scheduled Spendor Caravans to other routes that don’t currently get lightning rail service, d’Orien said.

The cause of the avalanches is unknown and remains under investigation, d’Orien said.