Rail transportation in Urcea

Rail transportation in Urcea consists primarily of freight shipments, with a well integrated network of standard gauge private freight railroads extending throughout the Levantine Union. Passenger service is mainly mass transit and commuter rail in major cities. Intercity passenger service, once a large and vital part of the nation's passenger transportation network, plays a limited role as compared to transportation patterns in many other countries. Urcea has among the largest rail transport networks of any country in the world, and the vast majority of its internal freight is conveyed directly by rail.

The nation's earliest railroads were built in the 1820s and 1830s, primarily in the Valley.

Since 2000, significant efforts have been made to electrify Urcea's rail transportation system, taking advantage of the cheap and plentiful nuclear power available throughout the country while also attempting to reduce. Rail continues to play a major role in the Urcean economy in the 21st century.

Ownership
In Urcea, all railways are owned by the Government of Urcea, particularly the national government. This includes the physical track, infrastructure supporting the, signal switches, and all other directly related physical infrastructure. The government also operates the signal switches and is responsible for overseeing traffic along the rails, coordinating and prioritizing trains throughout the country and ensuring efficient travel. The vehicles themselves and any railyards responsible for their maintenance and storage are owned by private firms who operate the railways. Accordingly, the Urcean rail network operates on a public-private partnership, with the government owning and paying for the maintenance of the physical infrastructure while private companies operate and compete on the public rails.

Regulation
The publicly owned rail system is operated by the Ministry of Commerce as the National Interprovincial Railway Service, and the system - as well as all private operators on it - is overseen by the Agency for the National Interprovincial Railway Service, which fulfills both operator and regulatory functions.

To 1865
The advent of the railroad played a major role in the growth of the Urcean populace, as the output of large scale farms and cattle ranches in the eastern and southern parts of the Valley were now easily accessible to those living along the Urce River corridor. Accordingly, railroads empowered the creation of large scale meat processing corporations in those regions - particularly in parts of Harren - based on the availability of huge markets.

1866-1897
The explosive growth of railroad corporations during the latter part of the 19th century created significant economic and political problems in Urcea. Many newly wealthy men were created in a few decades, and the continual opportunity to expand Urcea's railroad network in the 1870s and 1880s promised to create significant more wealth. These wealthy men, mostly of the Privilegiata class, were a new and destabilizing element to Urcea's political life and culture. Dubbed the "Railroadocrats", these men formed a powerful interest which opposed both the traditional social order as well as the guild system, which significant hampered their ability to exploit laber in service of the growing railroad industry. In 1889, the Railroadocrats helped Gréagóir FitzRex seize power, beginning the Crown Regency. During the Regency, the railroads grew extensively as various regulations and restrictions were loosened. The period between FitzRex's seizure of power and the beginning of the '97 Rising were some of the most profitable and successful in the history of the Urcean railroad industry, and rails covered every corner of the country by the end of the 19th century.

Freight railroads
Freight rail is the major method of logistical transport within the Urcean interior, and presents the primary way most goods move around the country, ranging from military applications to the conveyance of retail goods. A combination of historic urban planning and more recent legal requirements have meant most major warehouses in Urcea are built directly adjoining the nation's freight lines, allowing for easy loading and offloading of goods. Mandates under the nation's Vehicle and Traffic Law - set in place by the Economic Transportation Act of 1972 - generally limited transportation of most goods to, prohibiting delivery by s beyond a distance of fifty miles without a special permit. This regulatory climate, combined with the well built freight lines, has meant special care must be taken for the siting of retail centers near railheads. Accordingly, many consumer shopping malls and other major retail locations throughout the country are located directly on rail lines.