The new year starts with a bang for the LinkWater RailRoad (LWRR). Not long after the fireworks died down, the LWRR started construction on their homebase, the LWRR Depot in Linkwater Meadows. Among the promises are a boulevard of shops to flank the station.

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(LWRR tracks and station, with prototype vehicle)

Construction started with the erection of the outer walls and ceiling of what will become a terminal station for Line 2. Behind the station, a pair of tracks leeds into a still undeveloped piece of ground. Plans indicate that this will become the main technical workshop for the LWRR. Not only will the LWRR service the fleet of vehicles that serve the network, it will be the research lab for developing new vehicles as well.

But next to the infrastructure essential to the LWRR itself, the LWRR wants to invest in the neighbourhood. And they might as well, given that Linkwater Meadows is currently completely undeveloped. The LWRR has plans to build residential and light commercial properties in the area surrounding the future station.

The general manager commented to this reporter, "When there is no market for your railway product, you have to create the market. That is what we are doing by developing Linkwater Meadows into a hub of social activity.". When asked where the money for this investment to create a market would come from, the general manager declined to comment.

Meanwhile, activists are gathering forces. The regional group 'Keep our pixels green' has joined forces with the local 'Meadows Bluff' and is planning to block the development plans in court. It remains to be seen whether they will be succesful.