Rail transportation in Burgundie

Rail transport in Burgundie
Rail transport in Burgundie
	Busy rail corridor with both passenger and freight traffic
System length
Total	155,130km Burgoignesc Metropole; 21,404km Equatorial Ostiecia; 45,408km BORA; TOTAL: 221,942km
Double track	86,183km Burgoignesc Metropole; 11,891km Equatorial Ostiecia; TBD BORA; TOTAL: 98,074km+
Electrified	78,746km Burgoignesc Metropole; 13,377km Equatorial Ostiecia; 30,272km BORA; TOTAL: 122,395km
High-speed	14,193km Burgoignesc Metropole; 1,070km Equatorial Ostiecia; 0km BORA; TOTAL: 15,263km
Track gauge
Main	Standard gauge

Rail transportation in Burgundie 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 but is making a comeback after the passage of the Passenger Rail Corridor Identification and Development Program in 2030. Burgundie has a large rail transport network and the vast majority of its internal freight is conveyed directly by rail.

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

Governance

Ownership

In Burgundie, all railways are owned by the Army Corps of the Rails (15%) and , 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 nation 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 Burgoignesc 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 Burgoignesc Rail Transportation Amenity (Burg: Commoditee des chemins de fer Burgoignesc (CCFB)), and the system - as well as all private operators on it - is overseen by the National Railroad Administration (Burg: Administration nationale des chemins de fer de Burgundie (ANCFB)).

History

To 1848

The statelets of Matritime Dericania (Burgundie) were sluggards in building railways, compared to Urcea and the rest of the interior of Kingdom of Dericania which had already demonstrated their worthiness by 1830. Due to the Burgoignesc tradition of hyper-urbanization, urban land was expensive, as was iron and anthracite (preferred over the lignite coal common in Maritime Deriania). A more serious obstacle was powerful political opposition, especially as mobilized by the principalities transport companies that used canals, roads, and rivers. They blocked the necessary railway charters. Mining companies in Faramount, in 1828, opened the first railway to move coal, most of the work was done by horses, although steam locomotives were used for the last segment. Passenger service opened in 1835. Rail was invested in by dukes and counts as a personal hobby leading to a wide variety of gauges, lengths of rail, and types of rail service. It wasn't until the Frist Fratricide and the use of rail for military purposes by the more standardized and unified interior states of Kingdom of Dericania the that new state of Burgundie could no longer avoid the obvious need for a grand rail infrastructure, unified by more standardized gauges, regulated and inspected by the government but owned and operated by the private sector.

1848-1875

Rear view of a rail battery during the First Fratricide
Front view of a rail battery during the First Fratricide
Brugo-Faramountesc rail cruiser during the First Fratricide

1876-1896

The 1877 Agreement for the Development of the Railway of Burgundie, called for the state to contribute about $50,000 per mile and own the system. At the time, private companies spent about $40,000 per mile for track, equipment, buildings, locomotives, and cars. The government further subsidized the companies by having the Department of the Ponts et Chaussées do most of the planning and engineering work for new lines. The government would assist in securing the land, often by expropriation, especially of lands owned by Derics. The government also agreed to pay infrastructure costs, building bridges, tunnels, and track bed. The private companies would then furnish the tracks, stations and rolling stock, as well as pay the operating costs. The policy was confusing and contradictory, and blocked monopolies, which meant no regional networks could form. This general policy masked many exceptions and additions. The most successful companies would often build their own lines themselves in order to avoid the complications of going through the government. For instance, during the economic boom period of the 1880s, the national government had to pay only 19 percent of the costs of railway construction. Other less successful lines would often need more assistance from the government to remain in operation. The same proved true during recessions, such as in 1892, when the railway lines gained a new agreement to save them from bankruptcy. In exchange for funding part of the construction of rail lines, the Government of Burgundie set maximum rates that the companies could charge. It also insisted that all government and military traffic must travel at a third of standard costs. The expectation that the government would eventually nationalize the rail system formed another important element in Burgoignesc railway legislation. That the rail companies only operated on leases paved the way for the nationalization of the Burgoignesc rail lines during the Second Great War.

1896-1902

Depiction of a Burgoignesc armored train during the First Great War
Photograph of a Burgoignesc armored train during the First Great War
Depiction of a Burgoignesc armored train during the First Great War

1897-1934

1934-1944

190mm railway gun during the Second Great War
Railway gun battery during the Second Great War
320mm railway railway gun during the Second Great War
400mm railway gun during the Second Great War
Burgoignesc armored train in Battganuur of the Second Great War
Burgoignesc armored train in Battganuur during the Second Great War

1945-1980

1980-1999

21st century

Freight railroads

Freight rail is the major method of logistical transport within the Burgundie, and presents the primary way most goods move around the nation, ranging from military applications to the conveyance of retail goods. A combination of historic urban planning after the First and Second Great Wars and more recent consumer buying habits have meant most major warehouses in Burgundie are built directly adjoining the nation's freight lines, allowing for easy loading and offloading of goods.

Strategic Auxiliary Fleet of the Continuation

The Strategic Auxiliary Fleet of the Continuation is a reserve fleet of steam locomotives train engines, steam ships, and clipper ships owned by the Ministry of Emergency Management. This fleet is widely distributed across the Burgoignesc Metropole in the event of a nuclear strike. Due to the mechanical nature of these modes of transportation they would not be impacted by an electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) of a nuclear detonation and would be the primary mode of transportation for key royal and national government officials reconstituting or for troop movements.

The rail fleet is maintained by the Army Corps of the Rails and the ship fleet is maintained by Merchant Marine of Burgundie. To maintain operational readiness all of the Strategic Auxiliary Fleet of the Continuation vehicles are used on an at least quarterly basis.

Environmental concerns have plagued the steam engine program and there have been a number of scholarships given to universities and think-tanks to come up with a better, equally as accessible, and equally replenishable fuel, instead of coal.

Strategic Auxiliary Fleet of the Continuation trains
Lansing Iron Horse
Lansing Iron Horse
Lansing Iron Horse
Lansing Iron Horse
Lansing Iron Horse
CCFF Clase Montiana
CCFF Clase Albalitoria
CCFF Clase Cafir

Passenger railroads

Burgoignesc Rail Transportation Amenity

The Burgoignesc Rail Transportation Amenity (Burg: Commoditee des chemins de fer Burgoignesc (CCFB)), is the public sector, intercity, passenger rail operator in the Burgoignesc Metropole. It owns and operates all rail corridors, rights of way, and rolling stock that serve this purpose.

Equatorial Express

The Equatorial Express (Burg: Express Equatorial) is the public sector, intercity, passenger rail operator in Equatorial Ostiecia, Port de Vent, and Sudmoll. It owns and operates all rail corridors, rights of way, and rolling stock that serve this purpose.

Istroyan Rail

Istroyan Rail (Burg: Istroie Ferroviaire), is the public-private joint-venture, intercity, passenger rail operator in Torlen, Antilles, Alcairet, and Chaukhira. It owns and operates all rail corridors, rights of way, and rolling stock that serve this purpose.

Borail

Borail (a portmanteau of boreal and rail) is the is the public-private joint-venture, intercity, passenger rail operator in Nauta Normand and Wintergen. It owns and operates all rail corridors, rights of way, and rolling stock that serve this purpose.

Iles Evangeline

The passenger rail in Iles Evangeline is being completely rebuilt to implement standard gauge and establish greater connectivity for service. This work is planned to be completed by 2039 at which point it will become a unique rail service provider, a body that has not yet been formed.