Night City Area Rapid Transit

The Night City Area Rapid Transit (NCART) is a rapid transit and public-benefit corporation based in Night City.

Overview

NCART is a Night Corp-owned city-managed corporation (with major private corporative funding) that provides magnetic levitation (maglev) rail services throughout the Night City metropolitan area. NCART works closely with NCTC, who manages the city's mass transit system, including all bus and railway lines.

Originally, NCART was mostly an underground subway, though after the reconstruction period it was decided to rebuild much of the network as an aboveground monorail. The only exceptions were in central Night City; in the districts of Heywood and especially City Center. Due to the high density of buildings in those areas, much of the line is located underground. NCART maglev trains travel both on top of the monorail and suspended below it, with the stations designed to handle both sides. Memorial Park Station acts as the central metro hub in 2077.

History

1994 - 2020s

Since the founding of Night City in 1994, NCART was responsible for the smooth running of the public railway system of the city. Although it was a public corporation, major funding was obtained from several corporate sources. It worked closely with the Night City Transit Corporation (NCTC).

During the 2010s, NCART provided maglev rail service throughout the Greater Night City Area, including Central Night City, Heywood, Westbrook, North Oak, Pacifica, South Night City and Rancho Coronado. As a mass transit system, NCART's record was quite good, and during the period between 2019 and 2020, they logged over a million travel miles with only eight major accidents, ten transit-related fatalities, and only eleven incidents of terrorist activities or other security breaches. The steady grow of the metropolis required new installations, as such, the new Transit Center began construction in Little China. By 2020, this building was the new metro hub for the city and the new base of operations for both the NCTC and NCART. This location also had a workshop to maintain and repair trains.

In 2020, each train stopped an average of every 20 minutes at each of the metropolitan area stations, with most of them being located underground. Tickets were 0.25eb per station travelled. There were additional corporate-owned suburban trains that also used the NCART railways to reach the Transit Center. During this time, other than the major metro hub in Little China, the other two big stations that saw lots of traffic were the City Center Station, known colloquially as "The Zoo" due to how easy it was to steal from travelers; and the Plaza Center Station, known colloquially as "The Jungle" due to how difficult it was to steal from travelers. For these reasons the Transit Police kept a notable presence in these areas, especially in the many stations around Corporate Plaza. Most con artists were kids, however, they knew the law well enough to avoid doing anything technically illegal when trying to turn a trick. This prevented the Transit Police from running them off, though NCART was known to mount a few sting operations from time to time.

During the Fourth Corporate War, the chaos caused by the Night City Holocaust disrupted much of the original infrastructure, which suffered periodic flooding and power outages, and many subway tunnels were lost to the bay.

2030s - 2040s

By the 2040s, the NCART subway system was still active within the Rebuilding Urban Center of Night City, but stations were still subject to flooding during high tides, prompting planners to reconstruct most of the railway system as a monorail above the ground and expand it to all districts of the city. However, this project would take time and money the city scarcely had.

By 2045, some corporative groups like the Night City Co-Prosperity Sphere had funded a high-security monorail that was already running a loop between the Executive Zone, Little Europe, the Watson Development, and New Westbrook for corpzoners to travel to work.

2060s - 2070s

In 2068, NCART was bought out by Night Corp after an incident in which unknown attackers released poison gas in the subway stations across Night City, leading to prolonged riots and NCART's bankruptcy.

By the 2070s, most public transportation in Night City was automated, including buses and trains. Ever since Night Corp had taken ownership of the former public corporation, NCART did a decent job in providing cheap and reliable transportation, although that didn't stop residents from complaining about the transit system. They did it for a reason, though, as NCART was still very poorly secured, especially during the night, and multiple lines set to "finish soon" were not near completion. The main metro hub of Night City was in Memorial Park Station in the Corporate Plaza.

By 2077, as per the official netsite of Night City, NCART was known for its fast travel, cheap and convenient availability, and also its easy accessibility, both throughout the metropolis as well as for the average citizen. However, NCART lines were outside of the jurisdiction of the NCPD.

Database Entry (2077)

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NCART

NCART (Night City Area Rapid Transit) is the Night Corp-owned city public transportation system which includes both metro and streetcars. There are currently six lines connecting all the districts, although expansions to the network have been in the works for years. Each NCART station has its own unique atmosphere and - as its passengers note - unique fragrance. NCART can be dangerous at night and during rush hour, as the gangs, mercs and regular criminals of the city see the stations and tunnels as a natural extension of Night City's streets. On the other hand, they say you don't really know the city until you've taken a ride on the NCART.

NCART Network

Main article: NCART Network

Notable Stations

• Transit Center (2020)
• Plaza Center Station (2020)
• City Center Station (2020)
• Memorial Park Station (2077)

Notes

• Although NCART monorail trains travel on top of the rail in Cyberpunk 2077, they are depicted as suspended under the rail in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. At least two NCART stations in the videogame, the one outside Megabuilding H10 and the Megabuilding H7 station, are designed to handle trains on both sides of the rail.
• The 2077 E line is close to the sequence of stops shown in the NCART train car in the E3 2018 trailer: The Glen, Downtown, Little China, MedCenter, and New Harbor (likely a different location than in 2020).
• A Visitor's Guide to Night City originally stated there were two functional metro lines that provide public transport. Line 1, which looped underneath City Center, Heywood, Watson and Westbrook; and Line 2, which cut through the city from the Orbital Air Space Center in the west, to Rancho Coronado in the east. A third line was being developed which would extend from Wellsprings to Charter Hill.

Gallery

• 
  Layout of an NCART train in 2020
• 
  An NCART train above the streets of Japantown
• 
  In Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
• 
• 
  Station concept art

See Also

• Maglev Network