Junction

Junction is a large town on the borderline of Vale and Vacuo. It houses a population of about 4000 people from both kingdoms, and serves as a major transportation hub between the two lands on the continent of Vytal.

Geography
Junction lies on a relatively flat savanna on the exact borderline of Vale and Vacuo's territories. The town takes up a 2.5 mile radius, overlapping the border. To separate the two kingdoms, a large wall cutting through the town separates the two. At its base is a checkpoint for foot traffic and vehicles to pass through between Vale and Vacuo, while atop it is a railroad bridge which the transcontinental railway that ships trade goods between the kingdoms runs through. At either base of the bridge, each on a respective side of the town, is a rail yard where engines, rolling stock, and passenger cars are serviced and stored.

History
About seventy years before the events of the series, ten after the Great War, Vacuo and Vale fully solidified a trade deal between their kingdoms that would benefit relations between the two greatly. This lead to the construction of a transcontinental railway between the two. The construction began in Vale, winded through canyon passes in Forever Fall, and through the grasslands of southern Vale. On Vacuo's side, construction was more difficult dealing with extreme desert temperature, shifting dunes, and Grimm attacks. All in all, the construction completed after five years and billions of Lien were spent, meeting exactly on a planned spot on the dividing line between the two territories. From there, a village was built around this meeting place that slowly grew into a well-known hub of transportation over the decades.

Culture
The people of Junction on either side of the border wall are governed by a superintendent elected every five years between two nominees from either kingdom. This superintendent has the same power as a town's mayor, and runs the settlement to suit the needs of his or her people.

The town has an even split of Human and Faunus denizens, with racism between either side at a low as of the events of the series. Most have jobs related to the railroad, ranging from track and engine maintenance to running the depots and stations. The ironworks on the outskirts from the Vacuo-side of town also attract some work for metal fabricators. All other jobs go to shops, social services such as the post office, the hospitals on either side of town, and the police force which has jurisdiction of all of Junction, regardless of which side its officers reside in.

The town is defended from Grimm attacks by a security force made up of the police force and a group of Atlas security mechs, and will call in Huntsmen and Huntresses in state of emergency situations. They also have an automatic turret system not unlike the one that was supposed to protect the doomed settlement of Mountain Glenn. Luckily, thanks to defensive walls on the perimeters of the city, Grimm attacks lead to relatively few civilian casualties.