Published: Stop training, says the coach

[Australian rePublic]

Current Draft:

Title: Stop Training And Start Coaching
Description: A feasibility study into railway lines in the Boondocks, the most remote part of @@NAME@@, has discovered that they are economically unsustainable, with some lines running 6-carriage trains with as few as 3 passengers. The feasibility study has suggested that these railway lines be shut down and replaced with coach services.
Validity: (Co-authored by Jutsa and Australian Republic) Nation must have: reasonable public transport spending; trains and automobiles(or at least coaches and trucks, but I imagine automobiles would be easier to code).

Option: "Whilst I understand that this is an unfortunate situation, we cannot maintain every single line," complains @@RANDOMNAME@@, chief of the rail budget. "While coaches may offer somewhat slower travel, they are more well-suited for small towns with small populations, as they're smaller and can run directly into town, when rail lines may lay a few kilometers out. Even better is the fact that they're cheap and require far less maintenance. And when it comes to imports, trucks will, too, be more efficient than freight trains. Come on, @@LEADER@@; it's the only logical solution."
[effect]miles of abandoned and rusty rail networks can almost be made out from the windows of overcrowded coaches

Option: "Stupid, bloody townies!" screams a disgruntled, long-term resident of the Boondocks. "We live so far from everything that we need good and sturdy transport to get anywhere safely and comfortably, as well as import supplies we need and export enough to give us a profit. The government should build, maintain, and pay for rail connections to every place that has someone living in it. Darn the expenses, @@LEADER@@; do it for my children!"
[effect]the nation's longest railway line only serves two individuals who didn't even want it

Option: "Why should I have to pay for the travel of hermits who only want to interact with the outside world whenever it suits them?" protests @@RANDOMNAME@@, a disgruntled city taxpayer. "I don't see why rural people need public transport at all. If they choose to live isolated, then by all means they'll get what they're asking for. It's not like in the city, where we need public transport in order to get anywhere - even if we are closer to everything. Cut any and all government spending on public transport to rural communities, and let those people find their own way around."
[effect]rural communities are so isolated that they're rediscovered every couple of years

Title:
Stop Training, Says the Coach

Description:
As a cost-cutting method, the national government wishes to shut down a railway line in the Boondocks, the most remote and underpopulated part of @@NAME@@. The railway in question is one of the longest railway lines in the nation, and only serves 1500 people. The government wishes to replace it with a coach, (or luxury, long distance bus) service. This proposal has been met with controversy from locals, who wish to retain their railway line

Validity:
Must have state-owned enterprise, Must have public transport and roads, not valid for those who selected option 2 of issue 526

Options:
[option]"Whilst I understand that this is an unfortunate situation, our transport budget cannot afford to maintain every single railway line” says the national treasurer of transport, @@RANDOMNAME@@. “Coaches may not be as comfortable as a train, and not to mention the lack of food, but we could enhance them. Additional leg room, on-board toilets, and you get my point"
[effect]3/4 of @@NAME@@’s railways are scheduled for demolition

[option]”Stupid bloody townies!” screams a disgruntled long-term resident of the Boondocks, from a town along the route in question “I wish one of you would spend a week in the country, so that you can actually know what you’re doing before making your dumb decisions. We live so far from everything that we need good transport to get-well-anywhere! We are so far from everything that comfort is our number one problem with transport. I wish that you city-slickers would understand what life is like for people in the country before going ahead and making stupid, harebrained decisions"
[effect]@@NAME@@’s longest railway line only serves two individuals

[option]"Why should I have to pay for the travel of hermits who only want to interact with the outside world whenever it suits them?” yells @@RANDOMNAME@@, a disgruntled city taxpayer, who is too stubborn to travel to the country. “The government should only pay for the travels of people who live in areas where there are enough tax payers to fund it. As for people who live in the middle of nowhere, that’s their own problem. Nobody is forcing them to live out in the Boondocks!”
[effect]According to most @@DENONYMPLURAL@@, rural roads are strange phenomena known only to those who travel to the most exotic parts of @@REGION@@

[option]”There is a way to fix everything” says @@RANDOMNAME@@, the CEO of a well-know urban-planning firm. “We could build small villages along existing, popular rail corridors, and move people from the various parts of the Boondocks to them. These villages could have railway stations and a population cap. Trains which are serving more popular routes could stop along these new villages with very little extra cost. That way the rural residents could have their railways, and we wouldn’t pay through the nose for them. It would cost to initially set them up, but in the long run, there will be nothing but savings! I'm not even going to mention how much money my employees and shareholders, who are your potential voters, will receive from this project. Oh yea, and the fact that there will be more employment in the construction industry...”
[effect] The government is evicting more than 30% of @@DENONMPLURAL@@ out of their homes, against their will, in order to ensure trains are overcrowded

Title:
Stop Training, Says the Coach

Description:
As a cost-cutting method, the national government wishes to shut down a railway line, in the Boondocks, the most remote and underpopulated part of @@NAME@@. The railway in question is one of the longest railway lines in the nation, and only serves 1500 people. The government wishes to replace it with a coach, (or luxury, long distance bus) service. This proposal has been met with controversy from locals, who wish to retain their railway line

Validity:
Must have state-owned enterprise, Must have public transport and roads

Options:
[option]"Whilst I understand that this is an unfortunate situation, our transport budget cannot afford to maintain every single railway line” says the national treasurer of transport, @@RANDOMNAME@@. “Coaches may not be as comfortable as a train, and not to mention the lack of food, but we could enhance them. Additional leg room, on-board toilets, and you get my point"
[effect]3/4 of @@NAME@@’s railways are scheduled for demolition

[option]”Stupid bloody townies!” screams a disgruntled long-term Boondocks resident, from a town along the route “I wish one of you would spend a week in the country, so that you can actually know what you’re doing before your making your dumb decisions. We live so far from everything that we need good transport to get-well, anywhere! We are so far from everything that comfort is our number problem with transport. I wish that you city-slickers would understand what life is like for people in the country before going ahead and making stupid, quick-fix decisions"
[effect]@@NAME@@’s longest railway line only serves two individuals

[option]"Why should I have to pay for the travel of hermits who only want to interact with the outside world whenever it suits them?” yells @@RANDOMNAME@@, a disgruntled city taxpayer, who is to stubborn to travel to the country. “The government should only pay for the travels of people who live in areas where there are enough tax payers to fund it. As for people who live in the middle of nowhere, that’s their own problem. Nobody is forcing them to live out in the Boondocks!”
[effect]According to most @@DENONYMPLURAL@@, rural roads are strange phenomena known only to those who travel to the most exotic parts of @@REGION@@


Title:
Stop Training, Says the Coach

Description:
As a cost-cutting method, the national government wishes to shut down a railway line, in the most remote and underpopulated part of @@NAME@@. The railway in question is one of the longest railway lines in the nation, and only serves 1500 people. The government wishes to replace it with a coach, (or luxury, long distance bus) service. This proposal has been met with controversy from locals, who wish to retain their railway line

Validity:
Must have state-owned enterprise, Must have public transport and roads

Options:
[option]"Whilst I understand that this is an unfortunate situation, our transport budget cannot afford to maintain every single railway line” says the national treasurer of transport, @@RANDOMNAME@@. “Coaches may not be as comfortable as a train, and not to mention the lack of food, but we could enhance them. Additional leg room, on-board toilets, and you get my point"
[effect]3/4 of @@NAME@@’s railways are scheduled for demolition

[option]”Stupid bloody townies!” screams a disgruntled long-term resident of a town along the route “I wish one of you would spend a week in the country, so that you can actually know what you’re doing before making decisions. We live so far from everything that we need good transport to get-well, anywhere! We are so far from everything that comfort is our number problem with transport. I wish that you townies would understand what life is like for people in the country before going ahead and making stupid decisions without asking us
[effect]@@NAME@@’s longest railway line serves two individuals

[option]"Why should I have to pay for the travels of hermits who live in the middle of nowhere!” yells a stubborn, disgruntled tax payer, @@RANDOMNAME@@, who has never travelled outside of @@CAPITAL@@. I say cut all transport until there are enough tax payers in one area to pay for it themselves, and use the transport money for people who pay for it. If they want to live out in Boondocks, and only to interact with outside world when it suits them, that's their problem. Not ours”
[effect]According to most @@DENONYMPLURAL@@, rural roads are strange phenomena known only to those who travel to the most exotic parts of @@REGION@@

Title:
Stop Training, Says the Coach

Description:
As a cost-cutting method, the national government wishes to shut down a railway line, in the most remote and underpopulated part of @@NAME@@. The railway in question is one of the longest railway lines in the nation, and only serves 1500 people. The government wishes to replace it with a coach, (or luxury, long distance bus) service. This proposal has been met with controversy from locals, who wish to retain their railway line

Validity:
Must have state-owned enterprise, Must have public transport and roads

Options:
[option]"Our transport budget cannot afford to maintain every single railway line” says the national treasurer of transport, @@RANDOMNAME@@. “Coaches may not be as comfortable as a train, and not to mention the lack of food, but we could enhance them. Extra leg room, on-board toilets, and you get my point"
[effect]3/4 of @@NAME@@’s railways are scheduled for demolition

[option]"Don’t take our trains away” says @@RANDOMNAME@@, a long term resident of a town along the route which is scheduled for demolition “Trains are the most comfortable way for us to travel-well-anywhere, and a coach service cannot meet the standards of a train. I wish that you townies would understand that we are so far from everything that comfort is our biggest problem. There is nothing more comfortable than a train. We need to maintain our regional railways"
[effect]@@NAME@@’s longest railway line serves two individuals

[option]"If you want to live out in the middle of nowhere, why should we pay for you to travel anywhere?” says @@RANDOMNAME@@, a disgruntled tax payer from @@NAME@@’s largest city. If you wish to live in the middle of nowhere and act like a hermit, why should the government have to pay for your travels? I say cut the train and the coach service, and stop wasting the rest of our money”
[effect]According to most @@DENONYMPLURAL@@, rural roads are strange phenomena known only to those who travel to the most exotic parts of @@REGION@@

Title:
Stop Training, Says the Coach

Description:
In a cost-cutting method, the national government wishes to shut down a railway line in the @@NATIONALINITIAL@@isials, the most remote part of @@NAME@@, which is one of the longest railway lines in @@NAME@@, and only serves 1500 people, and replace it with a coach service. This has proposal has met with controversy from locals, who wish to retain their railway line

Validity:
Must have state-owned enterprise

Options:
[option]"We can’t afford to maintain all of our rural railways” says the national transport treasurer @@RANDOMNAME@@, and if we were to keep within our transport budget, no matter how unfortunate, we have to shut down our rural railway lines and replace them with coach services”
[effect]3/4 of @@NAME@@’s railways are schedualed for demolition

[option]"With all due respect, @@LEADER@@, we can’t have some townie making decisions for us” says @@RANDOMNAME@@, a long term resident of the @@NATIONALINITIAL@@isials “Trains are the most comfortable way for us to travel-well anywhere, and a coach service cannot meet the standards of a train. Don’t we deserve good transport?”
[effect]@@NAME@@’s longest railway line serves two persons

[option]"If you want to live out in @@NATIONALINITIAL@@isials, why should we pay for you to travel anywhere?” says @@RANDOMNAME@@, a disgruntled tax payer from the city “If you wish to live in the middle of nowhere and act like a hermit, why should the government have to pay for your travels? I say cut the train and the coach service, and stop wasting the rest of our money”
[effect]According to most @@DENONYMPLURAL@@, rural roads are strange phenomena known only to those who travel to the most exotic parts of @@REGION@@

[Trotterdam]

What is a "coach", and what are its advantages and disadvantages? Why is it easier than a rail line?

The last time I recall seeing the word "coach" as a means of transportation, it was referring to horse-drawn carriages (which, granted, would be perfectly appropiate in my nation). Nowadays we have trains, busses, taxis, and so on, but I don't remember anything called a "coach". Maybe this is a dialectal difference.

Also, "@@NATIONALINITIAL@@isials" (I assume you mean "@@NAMEINITIALS@@isials", since that isn't a listed macro) is very easily going to produce nonsensical results as a place name. Think "ARisials", what kind of place name starts with multiple capital letters and then has a generic suffix like that? Even for single-word nations, depending on the letter, it could produce questionably-pronouncable stuff.

[Australian rePublic]

What is a "coach", and what are its advantages and disadvantages? Why is it easier than a rail line?

The last time I recall seeing the word "coach" as a means of transportation, it was referring to horse-drawn carriages (which, granted, would be perfectly appropiate in my nation). Nowadays we have trains, busses, taxis, and so on, but I don't remember anything called a "coach". Maybe this is a dialectal difference.

A coach is a luxury bus especially built for long distance. In almost all English speaking nations, they are called coaches, and not buses. More luxurious than a bus, sometimes (but not always) they have on board toilets. No where near as luxuriousas, or comfortable, as a train

Also, "@@NATIONALINITIAL@@isials" (I assume you mean "@@NAMEINITIALS@@isials", since that isn't a listed macro) is very easily going to produce nonsensical results as a place name. Think "ARisials", what kind of place name starts with multiple capital letters and then has a generic suffix like that? Even for single-word nations, depending on the letter, it could produce questionably-pronouncable stuff.

Suggestions?

[Australian rePublic]

Where's an issue nitpicker when you need one

[Australian rePublic]

bump

[Katalaysia]

First Draft:
Title:
Stop Training, Says the Coach

Description:
As a cost-cutting method, the national government wishes to shut down a railway line in the @@NATIONALINITIAL@@isials, the most remote part of @@NAME@@, which is one of the longest railway lines in @@NAME@@ and only serves 1500 people, instead replacing it with a coach service. This proposal has been met with controversy from locals, who wish to retain their railway line

Validity:
Must have state-owned enterprise, Must have public transport and roads

Options:
[option]"We can’t afford to maintain all of our rural railways” says the national transport treasurer @@RANDOMNAME@@, and if we are to keep within our transport budget, no matter how unfortunate, we have to shut down our rural railway lines and replace them with coach services” Maybe include an accidental mention of a larger disadvantage?
[effect]3/4 of @@NAME@@’s railways are scheduled for demolition

[option]"With all due respect, @@LEADER@@, we can’t have some townie making decisions for us” says @@RANDOMNAME@@, a long term resident of the @@NATIONALINITIAL@@isials “Trains are the most comfortable way for us to travel-well anywhere, and a coach service cannot meet the standards of a train. Don’t we deserve good transport?”
[effect]@@NAME@@’s longest railway line serves two people

[option]"If you want to live out in @@NATIONALINITIAL@@isials, why should we pay for you to travel anywhere?” says @@RANDOMNAME@@, a disgruntled tax payer from the city “If you wish to live in the middle of nowhere and act like a hermit, why should the government have to pay for your travels? I say cut the train and the coach service, and stop wasting the rest of our money”
[effect]According to most @@DENONYMPLURAL@@, rural roads are strange phenomena known only to those who travel to the most exotic parts of @@REGION@@

It might be good to have more varying speech patterns between the three different people, as they seem to all be talking rather similarly at the moment. Also, you may want to add what they're doing whilst making these points, just to add flavour to the issue and make them seem less identical to each other. You could also do with replacing the @@INITIAL@@ism with something more generic, like the rural borders of @@NAME@@

[Australian rePublic]

Fixed

[Great Feng]

clever pun.

[Australian rePublic]

clever pun.

Thanks!

[Australian rePublic]

Seeing how this issue has not been replied to whilst others have, should I assume that it's ready for submission? (Especially with the number of views it's had). Please reply with an answer

[Katalaysia]

There's punctuation missing inside the speech tags, so you'll need to add that.

Also, like I previously mentioned, it still feels like the people from each option don't really have a distinctive voice, and you've not really said what they're doing whilst making their points. It's just extra detail, but it would make the issue more interesting.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

The last time I recall seeing the word "coach" as a means of transportation, it was referring to horse-drawn carriages (which, granted, would be perfectly appropiate in my nation). Nowadays we have trains, busses, taxis, and so on, but I don't remember anything called a "coach". Maybe this is a dialectal difference.

Just at a tangent, where you from? Curious to know which country/region doesn't use this word, for my own education.

[Trotterdam]

It may be more that I live in the city and so am not familiar with how people get around out in the boondocks

[Australian rePublic]

It may be more that I live in the city and so am not familiar with how people get around out in the boondocks

You have never travelled regionally?
I come from the city and ride coaches all the time. Both in the city, and in the country

[Australian rePublic]

There's punctuation missing inside the speech tags, so you'll need to add that.

Also, like I previously mentioned, it still feels like the people from each option don't really have a distinctive voice, and you've not really said what they're doing whilst making their points. It's just extra detail, but it would make the issue more interesting.

I tried to vary the speech pattern. I will re-evaluate it and fix everything

[Gnejs]

boondocks

Now there's a funny word. You - the author - should use that in your draft.

[Australian rePublic]

boondocks

Now there's a funny word. You - the author - should use that in your draft.

Right. Back to the structure of my first draft

[G-Max]

- Is this area called "Boondocks" or "Boomdocks"? You spelled it both ways.
- You need an option for "privatize the rail". Something where the free market, rather than government, decides the success or failure of the rail.
- Resettling the Boomdockians to a more convenient location should be an option

[Australian rePublic]

- Is this area called "Boondocks" or "Boomdocks"? You spelled it both ways.
- You need an option for "privatize the rail". Something where the free market, rather than government, decides the success or failure of the rail.
- Resettling the Boomdockians to a more convenient location should be an option

Yea, I'll fix the Boomdocks part. It goes without saying that the private sector doesn't want them, because they are not profitable. I also tried to imply that they should move themselves, but I suppose I could add something about the government resetteling them. Thanks for that!

[Australian rePublic]

- Is this area called "Boondocks" or "Boomdocks"? You spelled it both ways.
- You need an option for "privatize the rail". Something where the free market, rather than government, decides the success or failure of the rail.
- Resettling the Boomdockians to a more convenient location should be an option

Done

[Australian rePublic]

If someone can help me make the effect for option 4 more concise, it would be much appreciated

[Katalaysia]

"comfort is our number one problem"

"who is too stubborn to travel to the country"

Just a couple of nitpicks.

[Australian rePublic]

"comfort is our number one problem"

"who is too stubborn to travel to the country"

Just a couple of nitpicks.

Fixed. Thank You!

[Australian rePublic]

Is it suitable for submission?

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Boondocks is indeed a funny word, but I think you should make sure you get the usage right. Generally its "the boondocks" rather than "Boondocks".

My other worry here is that I am currently in the process of editing an issue about connections to remote rural areas. That could make your issue redundant. Please sit tight for a little bit till its published, then you can see if you need to adjust your issue.