Rail transportation in Urcea
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| Rail transport in Urcea | |
|---|---|
.jpg) A Cape Northern train moves southbound on the historic Callan and Cana Railroad line near Sangran, Callan. | |
| Track gauge | |
| Main | Standard gauge |
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.
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 carbon emissions.
Governance
Ownership
In Urcea, all railways are owned by the Government of Urcea, particularly the national government. This includes the physical track, infrastructure supporting the right of ways, 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.