Zhenia National Railway Company

The Zhenia National Railway Company (Zhenian: 진국철도공사), commonly abbreviated and referred to as simply ZhenRail, is a Zhenian company. Headquartered in Changan, it remains a managed by the Government of Zhenia, which maintains a fixed majority stake in the company since its partial privatization in 1576. Initially formed through the merger and nationalization of numerous previously private rail transport companies, it currently operates almost the entirety of passenger transport and most of cargo transport through the nation's rail traffic, including all ZNX lines and almost all of the nation's passenger rail services. The railway network operated by ZhenRail, as well as its subsidiaries, spans over 120,000 kilometers of rail, almost 20,000 kilometers of which are high-speed lines and 109,000 kilometers electrified. The network altogether sees over 60,000 trains operated throughout the nation under the company's name daily.

Precursors and formation
The direct precursor of the Zhenia National Railway Company is regarded as the now-nonexistent Ministry of Railways, which was formed by the Railway Nationalization Act of 1524 AC. The formation of the ministry was the result of the nationalization of services and assets that were part of the five main railway companies in Zhenia:


 * Zhenia Northern Rail
 * Zhenia Southern Rail
 * Zhenia Central Rail
 * Danguk Rail Company
 * Seogwang Limited

After 1554
Since the early 1550s AC, Chancellor Kim Shimin, at an attempt to increase the operating flexibility of the nation's rail services, had suggested the partial privatization of rail services and infrastructure throughout the nation. While the idea of complete privatization, with rail service handled by a handful of private railway operators while the state retained control over railway ownership, was suggested, it was deemed implausible by the Ministry due to concerns that it would result in overall service degradation and the forced closing of unprofitable yet essential railroads. Instead, however, the Government ultimately arrived at the conclusion that almost all rail services throughout the nation would be allocated to a single public company, in which the Zhenian state would maintain a permanent majority ownership in the company and provide public subsidies into the system. Under such agenda, the Ministry of Railways was dissolved and reorganized into the Zhenia National Railway Company in 1554 AC, assuming almost all of the assets of the Ministry in the process. The National Railway Authority, a governmental body intended to coexist in tandem with the company, was established the same year, tasked with the overall construction and maintenance of the nation's railways.

In 1580, the Zhenia National Railway Company renewed its corporate image as a part of a corporate restructuring and image renewal plan, using the abbreviation "ZhenRail" (Zhenian: 진국철) for the first time at a formal level, while also introducing its current logo that depicts six rail lanes merging into one.

High-speed rail


Since the introduction of high-speed rail train services to Zhenia in 1564 AC, the Zhenia National Railway Company is the primary owner and operator of the Zhenia National Express network, a network of high-speed passenger rail services spanning across Zhenia as well as neighboring states in East Tarsis. Due to the company being responsible for a vast majority of Zhenia's rail traffic, both passenger and freight, the company is able to prioritize order of traffic to high-speed rail services, further improving the service quality and punctuality of the network. Daily ridership in the Zhenia National Express is expected to be over 15 million as of 1610 AC. International trains that are part of the Zhenia National Express network, extending to neighboring Yinguo and Sakaro, are also operated by ZhenRail alongside railway authorities of the respective states.

Passenger rail
In addition to full rights in the Zhenia National Express, the Zhenia National Railway Company remains the single largest operator of passenger rail services in Zhenia, aside from state-subsidized companies operating urban rapid transit and light rail services in the nation's major cities. It is the only company operating all three tiers of passenger rail transit in the nation, being the premier operator of intercity passenger rail in most sections of the nation.

In addition to a vast majority of intercity passenger rail services throughout the nation, ZhenRail is also in charge of operating a significant portion of the nation's lines connecting urban areas with nearby suburban areas, often operating such lines as joint ventures with municipality or prefecture-level transit authorities. Among a few exceptions, however, ZhenRail is fully responsible for the operation of the Jinhae Regional Express, a high-frequency commuter rail service spanning throughout Jinhae and the Taimir Delta Metropolitan Area, as well as the South Changan Line in Changan.

Freight rail
ZhenRail is also one of the major players of freight rail transport in the nation, although it is in practice handled by ZhenRail Cargo, a direct subsidiary of the company. While freight rail services have been opened to private railway companies for competition, ZhenRail Cargo maintains a strong hold in freight rail across Zhenia.

Headquarters
The Zhenia National Railway Company, at the time it was reorganized under the Ministry of Railways, was originally headquartered in Daedo's Shinsa-gu district. In 1595 AC, however, the Government of Zhenia announced the relocation of the company's headquarters following the completion of its headquarters in Changan, adjacent to the newly-built Shin Changan Station, which also became its main northeastern operational hub.