Collab:Federal States/Railways/Companies

This page details how railway companies are structured in the Federal States. For technical details about mapping and tagging FSA railways, visit Collab:Federal States/Railways/Resources.

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The Federal States railway network is based on a variety of private companies providing short-, mid-, and long-haul freight services throughout the country. The FSA also has a national passenger rail network that generally operates at relatively low speeds and low frequencies over freight trackage; however, in many regions private passenger carriers also exist to provide more frequent passenger services (at higher speeds, in some cases) between population centers where passenger rail service is competitive with commercial aviation.

This page serves as a primary listing of the various private freight and passenger rail companies throughout the nation, and outlines the steps mapmakers need to take to establish a new rail company or expand an existing rail company.

Overview

The railway network of the Federal States is organized largely at the regional level, rather than at the national level. The railway network is comprised of three key types of service:

1. Multiple freight companies provide the backbone of the FSA's railway network. While there are a few truly national companies, the majority of these are planned, organized, and mapped at the regional level or with the cooperation of individual stateowners.
2. The FSA has a single national passenger rail company, which owns very little, if any, of their own mainline track and is largely dependent on freight railroads to provide low-frequency, low-speed passenger rail service nationwide.
3. Supplementing the national passenger rail system are regional passenger railroad companies (RPRCs), which are responsible for providing higher-frequency service between population centers in each region. Some RPRCs may also offer grade-separated electrified high speed rail (HSR) options; some regions will have very few if any RPRCs.

Freight companies are formed in one of three ways:

1. The smallest "Class D" freight companies, are organized entirely by a single stateowner. These companies are restricted to a single state, or to a total mainline length of 300mi/500km or less, whichever is less restrictive. There are no limits to the number of Class D railways a stateowner can create. Class D passenger railroads (Class D-P) are generally used to classify commuter rail services or intra-state services by a single stateowner.
2. Regional "Class C" freight companies are organized by each group of stateowners in each zone. Class C railways can also serve neighboring zones with up to 100mi/160km of additional mainline. Class C passenger railroads (Class C-P) are used to classify interstate regional passenger services, including high-speed rail lines connecting one or two zones.
3. Stateowners, either individually or in collaborative groups, can create larger "Class B", "Class A", or "Class AA" railways:

• Class B railways serve two zones and are organized by a single chairperson. The chairperson is responsible for planning the route and working with the stateowners along the corridor to map the railway. There are no Class B passenger railroads.
• Class A railways serve three zones and are organized by a chairperson and a co-chairperson. Similar to Class B railways, the chair and the co-chair are responsible for planning the route and working with the stateowners along the mainline to map the railway. There are no Class A passenger railroads.
• Class AA railways are the largest railway companies in the Federal States; as such, they must be approved by the FSA community before they get mapped. A Class A railway can apply to become a Class AA railway by adding an additional co-chairperson, creating a plan, gaining tentative approval from stateowners, and presenting their overall plan to the community as a whole. A Class AA railway is permitted to serve up to six of the eight zones in the FSA. The national passenger rail system is considered the only Class AA-P railroad company and serves all areas of the country that desire low-speed, low-frequency passenger rail service.

Each stateowner, regardless of number of states owned or participated in, may only serve as one railway's chairperson and as one railway's co-chairperson. In other words, no stateowner can participate in organizing more than two national railway companies. (Class C and D railway companies are smaller and do not have chairs, so they do not count against this cap.) Passenger railways are organized similar to freight railroads, but are restricted to Class C and Class D systems to avoid competing with the national passenger rail company. Individual stateowners should not organize interstate passenger rail service (except commuter rail systems that serve nearby states in a metropolitan area); regional collaboration groups should take the lead on these efforts.

Company Listing

Stateowners should feel free to add to this list, provided these companies meet the criteria outlined on this page. Zones and Class definitions can be found in the following sections of this page. For each entry, please be sure to include the current "Status" of each railway company using the following options:

• Conceptual: This railway is being planned, but outreach to additional stateowners or regional groups have not yet occurred. Additionally, little if any of the railway has been mapped so far.
• Draft: A general agreement between the affected stateowners exists, but the precise corridor and other key details (including naming of co-chairs, if needed) are still up for debate and discussion.
• Mapping: The mainline of the company is fully planned with all affected stateowners in agreement; mapping and tagging efforts are currently underway.
• Complete: The mainline of the company is fully mapped and appropriately tagged.
• Expanding: This railway company was complete and is planning on advancing a Class and is currently undergoing planning and mapping efforts with additional stateowners.

Company Name	Abbreviation	Status	Class	Mainline	Zone(s) Served	Chair	Co-Chair 1	Co-Chair 2	Notes
TBD	TBD	Conceptual	AA-P	Various	All	Collaborative			Reserved for the national passenger railway company.
ArchRail		Mapping	C-P	Huntington-New Atwick via Stanton and Burton	Southeast	Southeast Region			High-speed passenger rail.
PenCross	PQX∈⊾	Complete	C-P	Newburyport -> Warwick -> Saint Renecene	Southeast	Zytik			High-speed passenger regional rail. Roughly 1491 miles of track.
LakeLynx	LLYX	Mapping	C-P	San Alonzo-Wallawaukee via Lake City	West Lakes	Collab:Federal States/West Lakes Compact			High-speed passenger rail.
Southern Minnonigan Commuter Railroad d/b/a SMARTrail	SMCR	Mapping	D-P	Various	West Lakes	State of Minnonigan			Commuter rail serving Lake City.
ConnectSeneppi		Mapping	D-P	Various	West Lakes	State of Seneppi			Intra-state passenger service in Seneppi.
Minnonigan Central Railroad	MCRR∈⊾	Mapping	A	Lake City-Andreapolis via Apricity and Barstone; branch lines to Jericho, Minneuka and Nordseehaven	West Lakes, Heartland, Alormen	JoJoBa	TheMayor	Not required	Planning of the corridor lines and branches underway.
Sauganash & Northern Railroad	S&N	Mapping	B	Lake City-Jundah/Stuart via Wahauja and Clamash	West Lakes, The West	TheMayor	Not required		Also planning a mainline extension to Cosperica.
North Coast Railroad	NoCo	Draft	C	Lake City-Wallawaukee via Miller	West Lakes	Collab:Federal States/West Lakes Compact
Lake City Union Railroad	LCU	Mapping	D	n/a	West Lakes	State of Minnonigan			Interchange railroad for all freight railroads in Lake City.
Frontera International Railway	FIR	Mapping	D	Frontera, MN to Deodeca border	West Lakes	State of Minnonigan			Jointly owned by S&N and MCRR to serve international interchange service to Deodeca.
Compass and Western	C&WR∈⊾	Mapping	A	Penquisset to ME/OQ state line	Southeast, Central, Heartland	Zytik	TBD	Not required
Great Eastern Stanton Folkstone	GESF∈⊾	Unknown	Unknown			Mstr
Scantuck & Southern Railroad	S&S∈⊾	Complete	D	Waltmore, NC to Ann'harbor, OK via Divinity's Grace, CR	Southeast	State of Culpepper
Lakes, Mennowa, and Northern Railroad	LM&N∈⊾	Mapping	A	Minneuka to…: Lake City, MN; San Alonzo, WJ; Franklinsburgh, SN; Ohunkagan, MA	Heartland, Central, West Lakes	Alessa	Luciano	Not required	Detailing of the corridor lines and branches underway.
Weber, Ryle, and Lion City Railroad	WRLC	Mapping	C	Weber, TE to Lion City, ME	Heartland	West Lakes Compact
Rock Valley Railroad	RVRR	Mapping	D	Mennowa City, ME to location northwest of Twin Rocks, ME	Heartland	State of Mennowa
Hope Harbor Railroad	HHRR∈⊾	Mapping	D	Newport, AS to Ampersand Beach, AS; spur line to Hartford, AS	Southeast	State of Astrantia
Astrantia Northwestern	ANWRR∈⊾	Mapping	D	Newport, AS to NC state line; spur line to East Vermouth, AS	Southeast	State of Astrantia
Newport Harbor Belt	NHBRR∈⊾	Mapping	D	Newport, AS area	Southeast	State of Astrantia			Belt railway serving Newport.
Wallawaukee, Seneppi & Western Railroad	WS&W∈⊾	Mapping	C	Varnel, NI to Deodeca via Gleason, SN	West Lakes	Collab:Federal States/West Lakes Compact
Great Western and Asperic	GW&A∈⊾	Mapping	B	Jundah, TA to Minneuka, ME	The West, Heartland	Brunanter	Not required

Zones

FSA context clusters; proposed 21 Dec 2021 update. Visit the discussion page for more information.

This map divides the FSA into eight regional context cluster zones. These zones, which were created based on existing development patterns, existing regional collaboration groups, and significant geographic constraints (rivers, mountains, etc.) form the basis of this plan.

Each zone is tasked with determining their own internal railway coordination structure. This can take the form of a regional organization group like the West Lakes Compact, an elected chairperson(s) delegated by zone stateowners to oversee coordination efforts, or some other format decided by each region. These groups will oversee development of RPRCs and Class C freight railways (see below).

The West	Alormen	West Lakes	Heartland	Greater Massodeya	Central	Northeast	Mid-Ardentic*	Southeast
Apawiland	Alormen (Fort Sinclair and points east)	Aquilia	Mennowa	East Massodeya	Makaska	Elway	Aperia	Arghenna
Alormen (west of Fort Sinclair)		Arbenon	Osaquoya	Michisaukee	Midesapa	AR120-22	Gilliad	Astrantia
Belirias		Minnonigan	Tejoma	West Massodeya	Nipewa	Caroline	Huntington	Culpepper
Clamash		Seneppi	Tennewa		Taviani	Eustacia	Newlynn	Delenshire Islands
Cosperica		Wahauja	AR120-44		Washaukee	Laine	Oakhill	Fellshire
Costa Dorada		Walkegan	AR120-48		AR120-34	Natrinia	Whitestone	Fermont
Sierra		Wychelle	AR120-52		AR120-59	AR120-26	Wilthamshire	New Carnaby
Tauhon			AR120-71					Oakley
Tempache								Passamaqueets
Tierra Alta								Penquisset
AR120-74								Trinity Island
AR120-82
NOTE: For purposes of determining railway classes, the Mid-Ardentic "zone" can be considered part of the Northeast or Southeast zones, but not both.

Collaborative states that are master-planned are generally not included in zone committees; mappers interested in adding railway corridors and railway companies should work with each collaborative state's coordinator(s) instead. Each zone is also responsible for developing a unified tagging structure for railways mapped in their zone; these tags must include name=*, operator=*, and service=* at a minimum for mainlines. The name=* tag should include both the operator's abbreviation and the name for that particular stretch of railway (e.g., "MCRR Ondassagam Subdivision").

Freight Operators and Companies

Overview

Each railway in the Federal States should be tagged with an operating company (operator=*), who owns the railway and is the primary company operating on that stretch of railway. Other companies can have "trackage rights" with permission from the operating company; in these locations, a company's route relation is permitted to include the railway of a different operator. A railway company primarily oversees a single point-to-point mainline, although spur lines that connect the mainline to secondary destinations are also encouraged.

Collaborative states or other stateowners that prefer to have consolidated rail corridors can also choose to form their own Class D "union" railways that are shared by multiple railroad companies.

Company Formation and Classes

Class	Structure	Max Zones	Chairpersons	Co-Chairpersons	Trackage Rights Max
Class D	State-led	1	n/a	n/a	50%
Class C	Zone-led	1	n/a	n/a	40%
Class B	Mapper-led	2	1	0	30%
Class A	Mapper-led	3	1	1	20%
Class AA	Mapper-led with community consent	up to 5	1	2	10%

Each stateowner, regardless of the number of states a mapper participates in, is permitted to be chairperson of one (1) company and co-chairperson of one (1) additional company. (Coordinators of Guided Collaborative states that do not own an FSA state are also considered "stateowners".) Chairpersons are responsible for planning and organizing interstate routes with the permission of each state along the corridor. There are five classes of railway companies, as described below.

Classes are largely based on the above structure and the number of zones served by a single railway company. A railway company is only considered to "serve" a region if a railway has more than 50mi/80km of track in the region. Additionally, for the purposes of determining a railway company's class, the Mid-Ardentic "zone" should be considered either part of the Northeast Region or part of the Southeast Region, but not both.

Class D

Class D railways are the smallest railway companies in the FSA, generally restricted to a single state or under 300 miles/500 kilometers of mainline track, whichever is less restrictive. Class D railways include industrial short lines, union railroads, and terminal railroads. Class D railways are expected to be organized by an individual stateowner (with permission of adjacent states, as needed) for the primary use of their state's residents or businesses and do not count against any caps. Class D route relations should operate with less than 50% of route mileage on trackage rights.

Class C

Class C railways are regional in nature, serving multiple states in a single (1) zone. Class C railways are named, planned, and organized by the stateowners in zone. Class C railways are intended to serve as regional networks of railways, rather than largely point-to-point main lines like other classes. Each region will have significant latitude in how they choose to structure their Class C railways, including the ability to serve areas up to 100mi/160km outside a single zone. Class C route relations should operate with less than 40% of route mileage on trackage rights.

Class B

Class B railways serve two (2) zones and are organized by a single chairperson, who must be a stateowner on the company's mainline. The chairperson is responsible for negotiating routes with the permission of each stateowner along the route. Class B railways are expected to consist of a single primary point-to-point mainline, with a few additional smaller spur lines. Class B route relations should operate with less than 30% of route mileage on trackage rights.

Class A

Class A railways serve three (3) zones and are organized by a chairperson and a co-chairperson; the chair and the co-chair's states must both be located on the mainline and must be in different zones. Similar to Class B railways, the two chairpersons are responsible for planning routes and getting permission from each stateowner in planned corridors. Class A railways are also expected to consist of a single primary point-to-point mainline, but with additional spur lines that serve additional significant destinations to interchange with other railway companies. Class A route relations should operate with less than 20% of route mileage on trackage rights.

Class AA

With the approval of the FSA community, a Class A railway can become a Class AA railway and serve up to six (6) zones. (To ensure realistic competition, no freight companies are permitted to serve more than seven (7) zones.) To move from a Class A to a Class AA railway, the chairperson and co-chairperson must identify an additional co-chairperson to help organize the company. Similar to Class A railways, each of the chair/co-chair's states must be located along the mainline and must each be located in a different zones. The three chairs/co-chairs are responsible for creating a network plan with tentative agreements from each affected stateowner, which would then be presented to the FSA community, with routing and company name approval to be voted on by the FSA community as a whole. "Mergers" with Class B railways are also permitted as part of plans to create a Class AA railway. Class AA route relations should operate with less than 10% of route mileage on trackage rights.

Passenger Operators and Companies

Passenger railways are structured similarly to freight railways, except no interstate passenger routes are organized by individual stateowners.

Company Formation and Classes

Class D-P

Class D-P passenger railways are commuter railways that generally serve a single major metropolitan area, or serves several metropolitan areas in a single state. These are organized at the state level, as applicable; these may operate over freight railway trackage rights or operate on dedicated right-of-way. Permission from freight operators is recommended, but not required unless operating on a segment of single-track railway. These do not count against chair/co-chair caps. Similar to Class D freight railways, Class D-P railways should be limited to a single state or a total length of 300mi/500km, whichever is less restrictive.

Class C-P

Class C-P passenger railways are considered independent of the national passenger rail company and provide supplemental regional passenger service, which may include high-speed rail. Class C-P railways are organized at the regional level and can use freight railway trackage rights for non-high speed rail service. Regions have significant latitude in organizing, naming, and planning Class C-P routes, including operating into adjacent zones as needed.

High-speed rail routes are considered any service that operates at over 110mph (~180km/h). These railways must be electified and grade separated from freight traffic and other ground crossings (streets, paths, etc.).

As per the results of the 2020 advisory survey, there is no national high-speed rail network and the only national low-speed network is provided by the national passenger rail company; thus, Class C-P railways should not serve more than two zones (although, similar to Class C freight, a Class C-P railway does not "serve" a zone unless it has more than 100mi/160km of track in said zone).

Class AA-P

The only Class AA-P company is the national passenger rail company, operating nationwide almost exclusively on freight rail trackage rights. These operations are low-speed and low-frequency, with only one or two trains operating daily per line. To ensure both fairness and forward-compatibility with all future states and stateowners, route planning will not occur until four Class AA railroads are identified and approved. At that point, interested stateowners will be asked to submit a list of stations they wish to be served by the company and a vote will be held to determine the name of the new company. The FSA Inter-State Coordinator and/or the FSA Project Coordinator will work with each region to create a national network plan to ensure as much coverage as possible. As new stateowners come into the project, additional stations can be added and routes modified as needed on an ongoing basis.

Other Information

Disputes

States are permitted to restrict or deny access to any company who wishes to operate in their state; however, once access is granted for a particular route, it cannot be rescinded. This includes changes in ownership of the state itself: existing routes will be covenanted into the state's new ownership in the event of stateowner turnover. Additional routes would require a separate agreement between the stateowner and the railway company (co-)chair.

Even if permission is granted to the railway company, each stateowner maintains the right to determine intra-state routings, station locations, and other details specific to that state unless explicitly permitted by the stateowner.

Any efforts to "barter", "bribe", or otherwise extract concessions from either a stateowner or a railway company beyond what can be considered reasonable compromises in regards to routing, service, stopping patterns, or other considerations directly related to the mapping and operation of the railway is expressly prohibited. Any violations or attempted violations of this policy should be presented to the FSA Inter-State Coordinator for investigation and remediation.

Vacant States

If a state is available (a "green" state), chairpersons can include a route through said state provided stateowners on each side of the available state agree. If the state already has railroads mapped, the new connection can be mapped as usual; if the state does not yet have any railroads mapped, a route relation can be applied to an untagged line that does not show up on visible layers of the map itself (but would appear on relation queries and wiki multimaps).

If a state is unavailable but vacant (a "gray" state) or inactive (a "yellow" state), corridors and routes are not permitted to be planned or mapped until the status of the state changes. A stateowner who does not respond to any outreach by (co-)chairs should be considered inactive.