Cabrini has a substantial amount of
transshipment traffic, which the
corporate leaders of Cabrini and its homeowners would prefer not land
on the planet. There is no traditional Highport in orbit around the
main
world. Ships passing through the system are encouraged to perform
gas giant refueling. Traffic to Cabrini Down is limited to the
occasional scout visiting the Scout Base, freighters picking up
agricultural products, and visiting yachts.
Cabrini has a Class C(III) Starport. All commercial spacecraft that
are doing business with Cabrini Development Corporation used the
commercial section of the port.
The design of starports vary tremendously with local technology
and requirements. The design of Cabrini Down has been determined by the
functions it must perform. To this end Cabrini Down is divided into
three sections.
The Commercial Down, as it is called, is adjacent to the yard where the rail line from Christhome terminates. Rail lines also connect the down to the nearby Downport seaport. The XT line separates these facilities, which are owned by CDC, from the Imperial owned starport. In this area the XT line is fairly porous, with many gates allowing rail and surface traffic to enter the starport. In the commercial section the parking areas for the vessels include loading facilities. Dedicated systems exist for special cargoes such as grain. Other freight is loaded and unloaded in standard containers, using small ground vehicles to haul the them around.
There are no passenger facilities at the Commercial Down. Support facilities for ships' crews are fairly minimal. There is a small "mall" containing stores and a few restaurants located inside the XT Line. There is no "Startown" and visiting spacers are discouraged from visiting areas outside the commercial port.
The majority of the ships visiting the commercial port are freighters, with the occasional Freetrader making a special delivery very rarely. Consequently it is a bad place to pick up speculative cargo. There are no local factors, other than CDC representatives, and most of their cargoes are contracted for months in advance.
The IISS has a base on Cabrini. The berths here are intended primarily for Type S scout couriers and other small craft. There are some repair facilities available for detached and active duty scoutcraft, but any major repair will necessitate a wait for parts from offworld. The base is much larger than now required and many buildings have been closed up. The IISS does have permission from CDC to conduct training in some of the Cabrini wilderness areas. This is the primary mission of the Scout staff on Cabrini, and the primary reason the Imperium maintains the base onworld.
The so-called "Private Port" makes up the third
section of Cabrini Down. This section is
inside the XT Line, and is run by the SPA. It is "private" only due to
the fact that the berths here are leased on a long term basis by the
CDC for the exclusive use if its owners, and are not available for
general traffic. Near the berths there is a car park, for landing
private grav vehicles. The Private Port has its own members terminal.
The terminal building includes a TAS office There is a chandlery, so
that yacht owners can pick up those little items that always seem to be
forgotten when leaving home. There is also a restaurant, for ship
owners and their guests.
Since many of the CDC berths at the port are empty most of the time it is quite common for friends and acquaintances of Cabrini Homeowners to be invited to stop over for a few days or even weeks. Such an invitation will customarily allow a visitor to use all of the terminal facilities. Of course all such visiting craft will be of the yacht classes and nothing so plebeian as a trader, merchant or scoutcraft would ever be seen berthed at the private section of Cabrini Down.