Magna Fortia

The train through imperial lands is a mode of transportation and a location in Final Fantasy XV. Prince Noctis and his friends take the train to Gralea on their quest to topple the Niflheim Empire.

The first portion of the game is on the open world, but the latter chapters are linear, as the player takes the train and the game's structure changes. The train travels through the continent on imperial lands, passes by Tenebrae, and stops at Gralea.

Story
After the events at Altissia, Prince Noctis and his friends take a train toward Gralea in a grim mood. Ignis Scientia was blinded in the evacuation of Altissia, and Noctis's bride-to-be Lunafreya Nox Fleuret was killed after she delivered the Ring of the Lucii to Noctis. Noctis is overcome by grief and becomes even more withdrawn than usual. Though he now possesses the ring that would let him wield the full powers of his ancestors, Noctis refuses to wield it.

Noctis's inability to cope with his losses infuriates Gladiolus Amicitia, who demands Noctis to pull himself together. Cor Leonis has tipped them off to a location of a Royal Tomb along their route, and Noctis and Gladiolus argue in the train on their way there, Gladiolus calling him a coward. This disturbs some of the other passengers on the train, although they try to ignore the commotion. As the train stops at an abandoned mine, Noctis and his friends brave its depths to collect another Royal Arm before returning to the train to continue their journey. Ignis speaks up to heal the rift that has formed between Noctis and Gladiolus.

They continue to Tenebrae, but in the wake of Luna's death daylight is vanishing from the world and Noctis and Ignis discuss the issue on the train. The train is attacked bu Niflheim forces, even if it is full of regular passengers. Noctis is tormented by the chancellor of Niflheim, Ardyn Izunia, who appears to Noctis onboard the train. An infuriated Noctis pursues him down the train cars but Ardyn disappears whenever he is about to strike. While Ignis and Gladiolus try to get the train running again, Noctis and Prompto Argentum fend off the attackers to protect everyone on the train. They demolish the magitek troopers firing at the train and Noctis warps to the imperial airships above to down them.

He catches the train as it takes off, but finds Prompto held at gunpoint by Chancellor Ardyn Izunia of Niflheim. As he warps to Ardyn he falls into Ardyn's trap, and accidentally pushes Prompto off the train. Ardyn knocks Noctis out and disappears. When Noctis comes to moments later, he is lying atop the moving train. He calls Ignis to tell him to halt the train, but they are unable to do so while escaping from the imperial forces, and must assume Prompto has been captured by Niflheim.

As they stop the train at Tenebrae they find the Nox Fleurets' manor aflame as revenge from Niflheim for Ravus Nox Fleuret's supposed high treason. The station is swarmed with refugees and Noctis gets a chance to talk to the locals and meet Aranea Highwind, an imperial mercenary who has recently quit the army and is now working to help the refugees. Deeming the trip to Gralea too dangerous, the party decides to not let the other passengers continue with them. Instead, they would take the train with Biggs and Wedge, Aranea's subordinates, who agree to take them to Gralea.

Days are rapidly shortening and daemons begin to spawn eve during daylight hours, even aboard the train. As they cross into imperial territory they come upon a blizzard at Shiva's corpse and the train is halted by daemons. After dispatching the daemons they get the train moving again, but Ardyn appears as the entire interior of the train car they are on is engulfed in a snowstorm. Gladiolus and Ignis slump to the floor, and Noctis approaches Ardyn when Shiva appears and freezes him. Ardyn's frozen body shatters, and Noctis forges a covenant with the Glacean, surprised to find she is Gentiana, the mysterious messenger of the gods who had stayed by Luna's side. Despite his encounter with the Glacean, Ardyn returns, revealing he is immortal before disappearing again.

Noctis, Ignis and Gladiolus continue to Gralea but the train comes under heavy fire and they decide to abandon it. Noctis drives the party to the city on the Regalia they had kept on the train. They wonder what will happen to Biggs and Wedge, but are certain they can fend for themselves, being experienced soldiers.

Creation and development
The development team wanted to create a transcontinental railroad, and brainstormed ideas to make it stand out. "When you simply recreate them with the same sort of size and volume, they turn out like toys," explains artist Kouta Niihara. "We create a sense of size, scope and power by creating them in the likeness of real-life jumbo jets."