Underground Subway Tunnels

The Subway Undernet

The Subway Undernet is what remains of New Vance’s old subway system. Before the Collapse, it moved people across the city on fixed schedules. When power failed and the Z-Virus spread, evacuation inside the tunnels broke down fast. Trains stopped between stations. Platforms filled with people who could not escape. Many were infected where they stood.

Emergency forces tried to seal sections and move survivors, but panic spread faster than control. Gates were locked from the wrong side. Some trains were abandoned with people still inside. Others were forced open and left where they stopped. Over time, the tunnels became blocked with bodies, scrap barricades, and half-built shelters.

After fighting moved to the surface, people learned the tunnels were still useful. Scavvers, smugglers, and faction scouts found they could cross large parts of the city underground while avoiding patrols and barricades above. It was dangerous, but it worked. That use never stopped. The tunnels became a shared route used by many groups, even though no one truly controls them.

No faction owns the whole Undernet. Control changes from tunnel to tunnel. Some routes are traveled often and watched closely. Others are so dangerous that even Raiders avoid them. Old rail lines, service tunnels, switching yards, and drainage channels all connect beneath the city. Anyone who wants to move through New Vance without passing official checkpoints will eventually consider the tunnels.

Tunnel Depth and Conditions

The upper tunnels sit closest to the surface. They are used the most and are the safest by underground standards. Some still have limited power from generators or salvaged solar lines. Emergency lights flicker. In a few stations, illegal neon rigs light the walls. Air still moves here. With a basic filter mask, people can breathe.

Deeper tunnels are worse. Ventilation fails. Fans are rusted and dead. Water pools on the floor, mixed with oil, chemicals, and infected remains. Rails are slick and corroded. One wrong step can mean falling into live power lines, sharp metal, or contaminated water. Fungal growth spreads across walls and ceilings, sometimes glowing or reacting to light and movement.

Many trains still sit on the tracks. Some have been stripped to bare frames. Others were turned into shelters or fortified dens. Doors are welded shut or reinforced with scrap. Inside, you might find bunks, weapons, or small shrines left by factions. Other cars are empty except for stains and old damage.

The tunnels are unstable. Sections collapse without warning, especially near bomb damage or old construction zones. Gas builds up in sealed areas and can explode from a spark. Some passages have live electrical cables hanging into standing water. Others connect directly to the city’s drainage system, meaning sudden storms or system dumps can flood entire routes.

The deeper you go, the less the tunnels feel like places people built and the more they feel like hazards that happen to exist. There are no warning signs. No route stays safe forever. Collapses, blockages, and new construction constantly change how people move below the city.

Factions in the Undernet

Almost every faction uses the Subway Undernet. None of them control it completely. Each group holds or influences certain areas when they can.

Solar Guardians control some upper access points and major stations near the surface. They use them as checkpoints and quarantine zones. Bright floodlights, UV rigs, and turrets cover main corridors. Infected that wander in are destroyed on sight. Their goal is to stop outbreaks from reaching the surface districts, not to rule the tunnels.

Hydro Hegemony teams move through maintenance corridors tied to water and sewage lines. They hunt for illegal taps and hidden water storage. When they find them, they cut or poison the supply, or seize it to use as leverage. For Hydro, underground water control means control over neighborhoods above.

Shadow Syndicate relies on the tunnels as their main way to move people and goods. They run black markets out of abandoned platforms and depots. AR overlays hide stalls and meeting points behind walls and dead terminals. Syndicate scouts track which routes are watched and which are not, then sell that information along with weapons, drugs, fake IDs, and stolen data.

Gear Rats treat parts of the Undernet like a scrapyard. They cut rail segments for metal, repair engines, and turn train cars into mobile workshops or war rigs. Welding sparks and forge light mark their territory. They move armor, fuel, and stolen parts through the tunnels between industrial zones.

Raiders take whatever spaces they can hold. They turn side stations and service platforms into drug dens and crash pads. Their control never lasts long. They fight everyone and burn routes quickly. A tunnel that was safe yesterday might run straight through a Raider den today.

The Static Cult appears in scattered pockets. Cultists gather in dark junctions and under broken intercom systems. They wire themselves into dead consoles and speaker arrays, searching for voices in the noise. Their spaces are marked by radios, flashing symbols, and looping recordings. They do not hold territory in a normal way, but their presence spreads through hacked systems and broadcasts.

Shamblers and Silent Walkers

Shamblers are everywhere in the Undernet. They wander platforms, sit in train cars, or pile up in collapsed sections. Some areas are thinly populated. Others are packed with infected. Sound carries badly underground, making it hard to tell how close they are. Many follow old habits from before they turned, repeating routes they once traveled to work or home.

The Z-Virus behaves the same underground as it does above. Bites, deep wounds, or contact with infected blood can spread it. Tight spaces and blind corners give the infected an advantage. Even trained teams get caught off guard.

Among them move the Silent Walkers. Shamblers do not attack them. They pass through faction zones without paying tolls. They appear in both shallow routes and deep, flooded sections. They do not speak and do not explain themselves. They collect objects, data, and sometimes people, then disappear into tunnels others avoid.

No one agrees on what the Walkers are. Some Hydro researchers believe they carry a modified strain of the virus. The Static Cult claims they serve something that speaks through interference. The Shadow Syndicate treats them as a threat that cannot be bargained with. If a route draws regular Walker attention, Syndicate crews abandon it.

Why People Still Go Down There

Despite everything, people enter the Subway Undernet every day. Some look for profit. Others look for escape or answers. Scavvers search for old tech, medical supplies, and data. Factions test routes and harass rivals. Cultists hunt for signals. Raiders hunt for victims. A few chase rumors about hidden labs, deep shelters, or the truth behind the Walkers and the virus.

For New Vance, the tunnels are both a danger and a necessity. Infection, trade, and power all move through them. The city cannot seal them off, and it cannot stop using them. Anyone trying to shape the future of New Vance must deal with what lies under it.

If you want to understand how the city really works, you look below the streets. You follow the tracks. You see who is willing to walk there—and who is not.