From the "Remikran Timeline Encyclopedia, the 1405 Edition":
Until 1345, most cross-country mass transit [in Middle Remikra] consisted of a mesh train network. Comprised of metal mesh tubes for tracks, which carried trains along via magnetic levitation, mesh trains were developed in the late 1320s, and were in full force by the 1330s. They became commonplace by the end of former Prime Minister Schraber's first term.
In Uhlstead, Ereautea, however, an engineer by the name of Drienne Macklin devised a track consisting of a vacuum tube that moved cars by levitation at a much higher velocity. Furthermore, each train car consisted of private compartments for passengers, the first to do so since the cable trains of the 1280s. Termed "vacuum-magnetic trains," or "vac trains" for short reference, the first model of such was tested in Uhlstead in June 1345. That October, the Commonwealth Council passed a budget for the first commercial line to be constructed between Hasphitat and Jestopole.
On 2 March 1346, this line opened to the public and proved immensely successful. Later in 1346, the Council approved a network encompassing Jestopole, Hasphitat, Retun, Maryk, Ligam, and Savel, which would be completed in 1349. In 1350, construction began for lines to Chemko and Zyrtin. ...
Article Written 15 November 1450:
Basic Structure and Function
The vac train rail consisted of a concrete chamber that had a concrete floor and walls on either side of the rail. Meanwhile a roof over the rail was angled and had transparent glass to the outside. The entire structure was airtight and was a complete vacuum in the interior. The train, itself, consisted of ten cars: two engineer cars on either end and eight passenger/cargo cars in between. A typical engineer car had the navigation deck at its head, which was spacious and state-of-the-art, and ten office spaces for each crew member, with five on each side and an aisle in the middle. A typical passenger car consisted of ten private compartments, with five on each side and an aisle in the middle as well, along with a self-serving food galley and a lounge on either end.
Peak Industry
Traveling at speeds of up to 1000 miles per hour, vac trains quickly gained popularity in the 1350s and 1360s, as average commute time cross-country was now reduced to about two to three hours. A nationwide network soon emerged and became well-established, and provinces, as well as local jurisdictions, began constructing their own vac train networks.
Vac train contractors attempted to expand this technology abroad. They succeeded in having the Edoran Regiondom construct a line between Edora proper and the city of Cotts. However, no other measures were approved as the Great North was now heavily invested in gyroplane transit. No other successful measures were had in Locin, Canticula, or other Circlarian regions for the same reasons, and the vac train industry was unable to secure funding from the Commonwealth to construct vac train lines in Ancondria. Nevertheless, vac train transit became the norm in the Provincial Domain of the Commonwealth, and served a crucial purpose in the resistance against the Esurchian Occupation between 1359 and 1362.
Downfall
The vac train industry continued to thrive in the Commonwealth and had secured funding from the Commonwealth Council in 1368 to construct a causeway under the Inland Sea between Hasphitat and Chemko. Known as the Great Underground Causeway, this project was completed in 1377 and consisted of both a vac train line and an automobile highway with numerous stops, stations, and rest areas along the way.
However, 1377 was the year that Prime Minister Wen signed measures diverting further investment expansions away from the vac train industry and toward the gyroplane industry, which had just started producing "personal occupational destination" vehicles (or POD vehicles). In the 1380s, POD vehicles gained popularity and soon became the norm of transit to the present. Nevertheless, the vac train network continued to operate with funding to cover maintenance costs and necessary renovations, as it attracted passengers wishing to seek the "authentic vac train experience."
This demographic, though, was smaller in size, and decreased in number with passing generations. A temporary surge in "vac train tourist fashion" emerged during Prime Minister Moore's tenure between 1417 and 1428, but was brought to a sudden end in 1431, when concerns over the global Coughing Affliction Disorder Virus Pandemic prompted the Commonwealth government to shut down the vac train network. The system never reopened again, and the program was completely eliminated from the Commonwealth federal budget in 1446. The rail network is currently under deconstruction, but there is a program in place to preserve some key artifacts of the industry in various museums and the National Institute of Research and Development.