Chapter 1270 Subway
East Africa is a large area and faces both the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. The distance from Rhine City to the east and west coasts is almost the same, which makes Rhine City the best choice. Originally, the first town was indeed conducive to East Africa's control of the Indian Ocean, but recently East Africa's influence in the Atlantic has also expanded rapidly in recent years.
Especially in today's trade between East Africa and Europe, the cities on the Atlantic coast have an absolute advantage. The only maritime channel for trade between the East Coast and Europe is the Suez Canal, but this canal was restricted by Britain and France during the war.
In past peacetimes, the Suez Canal would have had greater advantages than the Atlantic route, but now it is a wartime, and the Suez Canal happens not to be controlled by East Africa.
The British control the Suez Canal, which is also an important reason why the three Alexeis chose to arrive in East Africa from the Black Sea in southern Russia. Safety can be guaranteed, and the two countries are allies after all.
Prince Maxim said: "You can go to the Serengeti Reserve if you are well prepared. In fact, I have never been to the Serengeti grassland since I was a child."
Crown Prince Alexei asked: "Why?"
Maxim replied: "There is no special reason. East Africa is very big and there are many places I have never been to. Not only that, but it is also the same overseas. For example, it is easy to go abroad in Europe, but the only country I have been to so far is East Africa." and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.”
"After all, East Africa is a relatively remote place, and it is not as easy to exchange supplies and communicate with each other as it is between European countries."
In fact, there is one thing Maxim did not say, that is, it is easy to cause conflicts. After all, the more countries there are, the more conflicts there will be.
After visiting the Foix River Dam, the four of them wandered around the southeast industrial area of Rhine City. There were many people in the industrial area during the day.
However, it is obviously not as prosperous as the city center area. This industrial zone was not built for a few years. Instead, it is the Northwest Industrial Zone, which was basically built at the same time as the railway hub and has already formed a large scale.
The Southeast Industrial Zone was also an eye-opener for the three people from Russia. Most of the trucks here are trucks, and there are many vehicles that provide transportation services for factories.
Although Alexei has seen some industrial parks in Russia, there are none like this in East Africa, and the difference between the two is huge.
The industrial parks in East Africa obviously have careful planning, which makes them quite neat and well-managed.
Maxim said: "The distribution of cities and industries in many countries is naturally formed, but we in East Africa are different. We focus on systematic planning, taking into account multiple factors, and at the same time facilitating the city's management of industry."
"Bringing these large industrial enterprises together in one area is conducive to the rational distribution of water, electricity, transportation and other resources."
"At the same time, it can reduce the interference of residents' lives on production activities. In order to facilitate citizens to participate in production activities, we have established a relatively developed public transportation system."
"The most important one is the bus line. Of course, according to the Rhine City's plan, a subway line will be built in the future to further enhance inter-city connectivity."
"This has been taken into consideration when designing the industrial zone, and relevant land has been reserved to facilitate later station construction."
"In this way, the number of subway lines in Rhine City will reach four within five years, initially forming a network. Rhine City is not large, so the four subway lines can fully meet the current needs of underground rail transportation in Rhine City."
The small scale that Maxim mentioned is mainly for large cities in Europe, and large cities in Europe are generally capitals of various countries, or important economic cities, with a population of at least one million.
For example, the two major cities in Russia, St. Petersburg and Moscow, both have a population of close to two million. Other countries, especially major European countries, have capitals with a population of more than one million. The highest among them is London, England, with a population of nearly seven million.
Compared with these cities, Rhine City, the capital of East Africa, is indeed not a big city, and the cities of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa in East Africa only have a population of more than one million each.
The urban area of Rhineland has a population of more than 600,000, and there are three subway lines that have been built. This was quite outrageous in the previous Far Eastern Empire. It was equivalent to three subway lines built in one county.
Of course, the Rhine City's population goal is to reach three million this century. Coupled with the administrative status of the capital, although there are many subways currently being built, they are within the expectations of the East African government.
The three subway lines in Rhine City have already surprised Alexey and the others.
Alexei said: "St. Petersburg has a much larger population than the Rhineland, but there is currently no subway."
The late 19th century to the early 20th century was a period of intense subway construction. For example, the first subways in countries such as East Africa, France, Germany, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were almost all built during this period.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire is similar to East Africa. Both opened subways in the 1990s, while France and Germany started operating the Paris Metro in 1900 and the Berlin Metro in 1902 at the beginning of this century.
Russia currently does not have a subway line. Among the world's major powers, only Russia, Spain and Japan have not built subways.
However, among the three countries, Spain is expected to escape from the major countries without subway ahead of schedule. There is already news that Madrid will build a subway.
In the previous life, Madrid's first subway was built during the First World War and began operation in 1919. After all, Spain basically played a soy sauce role in the First World War.
The subway seems to have become the standard of the world's major powers. Of course, there are exceptions. For example, the first subway in Greece was completed in 1904.
Greece is not strong, not big, and not rich, so its economy is much better than those backward countries or colonies.
Maxim said: "You don't need to care too much about the subway. Its main function is to solve the problem of urban traffic congestion and provide convenient services. The subways in Rhine City are not profitable, and the traffic in Rhine City is not congested. Instead, it is a bit flashy."
That being said, Ernst's main factors in building the subway in East Africa were national defense and experience accumulation.
Needless to say, the national defense aspect is a natural underground shelter, especially after the emergence of new combat weapons such as aircraft. This makes the inland Rhine City likely to be threatened from the sky in the future. Although the probability is so small that it can be almost ignored, Ernst never jokes about his own safety.
As for the accumulation of experience, it is also easy to understand. After all, the subway is also an industry. Early development will help East Africa accumulate relevant experience. At present, East Africa is one of the few countries in the world that has independently built subways.
Prince Maxim's comfort obviously did not work. The young and vigorous Alexi said: "After I succeed to the throne, I will also build a subway in St. Petersburg, so that St. Petersburg can catch up with the pace of modernization of other major capitals."
Nicholas II only has Alexi, so Alexi's words are not only not treasonous, but reasonable. If nothing unexpected happens, he will become the next Tsar of Russia in the future, including Prince Maxim.
Prince Maxim said: "Then I wish you good luck in the future. Maybe you can really lead Russia out of its current predicament and promote the improvement of Russia's economic and industrial strength."
The construction of the Moscow subway in the previous life was still in the Soviet era. As for the construction of the St. Petersburg subway, it was not until the 1950s. Even in the 21st century, there are only five subway lines in St. Petersburg.
Moreover, they were all built by the Soviet Union, so Alexei's dream may never be realized. At least that's what Ernst thinks at the moment. After all, Ernst is 100% sure that the current Russian regime may collapse at any time. Even without the Soviet Union, only a capitalist government can come to power.