Transport in Zhenia

Transport in Zhenia is primarily facilitated by road, rail, air and waterways (canals and rivers). Most intercity and long-distance travel happens through road, rail or air; short-distance travels are dominated by road and rail. Cargo transport within Zhenia happens through rail, road, boat, pipeline and air in descending order. Zhenia is well-known for one of the longest and most complex railroad networks in the world, connecting almost all of the nation while also expanding to nearby states. Zhenia has a hierarchy of roads spread throughout the nation, covering the majority of the nation. Zhenia, being home to the largest aviation industry in the world, has numerous regional and international airports, with the most notable being the Daedo Capital International Airport and Shin Jinhae International Airport. Transport within Zhenia across all modes of transportation is almost completely mechanized and, in the case of rail,.

Before the 19th century
Dynasties in both mainland Zhenia and the Danguk Peninsula emphasized the need to establish and maintain adequate transport infrastructure as a means of consolidating centralized rule. The earliest records of large-scale transport infrastructure networks hint towards the existence of a nationwide network, complete with a posthouse every hundred ri (Zhenian: 里) during the Zhen dynasty as a method to exert centralized rule from Jinyang, while a network of roads to support such post horse network, later named the Imperial Roads, were constructed by 200 CE. Some tracts of the Imperial Roads extended from Jinyang to modern-day Daeheung and was later connected to the to the west. A network of transporting grains and other cargo from around the region to the capital as taxation was also built around the nation since the Zhen, utilizing both the Imperial Road system as well as many inland rivers and coastal ports. Water transport in the Danguk Peninsula and mainland Zhenia was used more frequently in later dynasties, especially following the completion of the Central Canal of Zhenia linking the Weisu River to the Taimir River around 665. The Central Canal, receiving multiple renovations and expansions over the centuries, remains in use to this day.

Following the historical division between the Danguk Peninsula and the mainland, direct road connections between the two nations were restricted, making the occasional ferries being virtually the only direct connection between the two entities. While many of the mainland dynasties focused on establishing road connections within the mainland and utilizing existing canal networks and inland rivers near the Taimir Basin, long-range maritime transport flourished in the Shindan dynasty, establishing permanent connections with its possessions with colonies and trading ports in western Veharia and the Hanmaric Ocean. flourished between East Tarsis and western Veharia, significantly influencing the global flow of silver and gold that upheld the economic structure of both the Shindan and Greater Wu dynasties, as Shindanese ships maintained monopolies over many of the commodities coming from the east. Later years of the Shindan dynasty saw the reinstatement of the Imperial Roads network in the late 18th century, although they were mostly restricted to the Danguk Peninsula.

19th century


The 19th century became a major transition point for transport in Zhenia, amid the introduction of other modes of transportation, particularly during and after the Daeseong Reforms during the rule of Emperor Seongjo. While inland water transport, via both canals and inland rivers, were favored over long distances, road networks around the nation, although primarily for horse-driven carriages and wagons, were established around the Danguk Peninsula during the Shindan dynasty, resulting in a short golden age for inland depots and posthouses along the restored Imperial Roads. Some of the horse-driven carriages and wagons were placed on iron rails to solidify routes and increase efficiency of transport, although such applications were mostly seen exclusively around ports open to Auroran traders.

Transport in Zhenia was revolutionized in 1849, when the first commercial railroad used by a steam-powered locomotive in Zhenian history, the Daedo-Seongnam Railway, commenced operations, connecting modern-day Daedo South Station and the Port of Seongnam. After proving itself as economically feasible and competitive enough against inland water transport and land transport via now-restored Imperial Roads, railroads entered a golden age in Zhenia. While most of railroad construction was focused within the Danguk Peninsula before the Zhenian Civil War, it proliferated across the mainland and skyrocketed during and after the Zhenian Civil War, with the major railroads still existent today, such as the Daedo-Gwangseong Railway and the Daedo-Changan Railway, commencing operations during the Zhenian Civil War, while the Golden Arc line, the first railroad traversing the Golden Arc region between Gwangseong and Zhuhae was completed in 1871. Several transnational lines, including the Geongwang and Bukju lines, were constructed after Zhenian unification, further increasing coverage of railroads in the nation. Over 50,000 km of additional tracks were constructed throughout the nation from 1868 to 1900.

The boom of railroad construction, while establishing rapid, direct, scheduled and year-round hub-and-spoke transportation interconnecting the nation, helped significantly in the of both Shindan and later the Empire of Zhenia, while also proliferating industrialization further inland from the Golden Arc region. While mainstream economic theories in the 20th century postulated that the increase in railroads stimulated national demand on cola, steel and other resources and directly contributed to nationwide economic growth and industrialization, such views have been challenged by views that railroads rather interacted with other factors surrounding the nation's industrialization as well as providing a business model for a single nationwide market.

The further development of rail technology also allowed for the proliferation of rail-based transportation as a means of urban transit, with the introduction of in major port cities towards the end of the century: the first streetcar service in the nation began along what is now Daedo Metro's Line 3 in 1887, traversing through the old city zones of Shinsa-gu district. Following the ease of imperial regulations on streetcars, several streetcar lines were built across the nation, often extending into suburban areas to provide linkage to major stations that were closer to urban areas.

20th century
While rail transport reached its zenith in the early 20th century, the rapid proliferation of automobiles that had built up since the early 1900s immensely changed the landscape of transportation throughout the entire nation, with previously horse-dominated roads giving way to vehicles with gasoline-powered internal combustion engines, while roads in both urban and rural areas were widened to make way for the increased traffic. The first half of the 20th century, in particular, saw the construction and expansion of numerous rural roads aimed for automobile traffic around farms and rice paddies, hence earning the name 'new paths' (Zhenian: 신작로, Sinjakro). With the construction of additional roads even in the most remote rural areas, automobiles overtook horse and bull-driven carriages as the most common mode of medium-to-long-range transport in rural areas by 1940. On the national scale, the Zhenia National Road materialized as a network of across the nation, bolstering the status of automobiles as a major mode of transportation in the nation.

While automotive transport and roads made their way into major cities as well, most Zhenian cities chose rail transport as a means to expand their urban built-up areas, resulting in the proliferation of streetcars across many of the nation's major cities. eventually took the place of streetcars in larger, denser cities, filling the gap between streetcars and local passenger trains in service distance, frequency and passenger capacity; urban rail lines also proliferated across many of the nation's largest cities after the completion of the Daedo Metro Line 1 in 1920. By 1940, three Zhenian cities - Daedo, Changan and Jinhae already had underground rapid transit lines through urban areas over 240 km of track. While some lines initially used traincars pulled by electric locomotives, most had turned to diesel multiple units (DMU) or electric multiple units by the 1930s, allowing for faster stopping and ease of organization across the network.

After the Second Great War


Transport in Zhenia directly after the Second Great War met a new age amid the rise of air travel and the broader proliferation of automotive transportation. Zhenian economic resurgence starting in the 1950s saw numerous transport infrastructure projects, including the resurrection of the National Expressway project from decades ago, materialized into reality. A revolutionary leap from the Zhenia National Road program that took place before the Second great War, the National Expressway was the first major nationwide infrastructure project directly headed by the central government, with the central government almost entirely funding it initially. Constructing multiple lines at the same time, most of the network was completed by the early 1960s and provided a stable, high-capacity means of medium-to-long-range road transport across the nation.

The rise of road and air transport in medium-to-long-range passenger and cargo transport resulted in a decline in rail ridership and usage. In such circumstances, the Kim Shimin administration revised and resurrected the pre-Great War proposal for a Rapid Rail Corridor across the nation and planned out a network of lines throughout the nation's population centers, as well as significant improvements over the nation's aging rail network, including electrification and double-tracking most of the network. Plans for a network of high-speed railroads, after gaining approval from Kim Shimin in 1959, materialized into the Zhenia National Express that began service on March 1, 1974, while over 40,000 km of track were reconstructed and electrified according to the plan. By setting an effective business model for medium-to-long-range passenger transport against road and air transport.

Motor vehicles


Much of road construction throughout Zhenian history was led by the state since the First Zhenian Republic, although they were initially less prioritized than rail construction. With the proliferation of personal cars and light trucks after the First Great War, however, extensive road plans to form a network of roads materialized into the National Road system, a grid of state-owned automobile routes connecting major cities of the Golden Arc region, as well as the Danguk Peninsula and Inland Zhenia. Road infrastructure in Zhenia saw further boosts during and after the Third Republic led by Kim Shimin, concentrating the construction effort on a network of controlled-access highways that connected the nation's major population and industrial centers.

Today, road transport remains one of the most commonly used means of transport for Zhenians, handling roughly 42% of all traffic nationwide: in 2019, 45.5% of all passenger movement and 21% of cargo transport within the nation occurred through road transport, with the percentage of motor vehicles accounting for road transport set to increase to 49.3% for passenger movement by 2035. 87% of all households in the nation have at least one car, while 40% own two or more; the figure, however, is significantly lower in densely populated major cities, where extensive and urban rail systems have been built, while the car ownership rate is set to somewhat increase amid the construction of suburban new towns near the outskirts of existing major cities.

Driving is on the right across all of Zhenia, although the maximum speed limit varies by region: mostly, maximum speed limits are higher on western and northern Zhenia, where traffic is less dense. Heavy vehicles, such as buses, semi trucks with cargo, dump trucks and construction vehicles, are subject to maximums speed limits that are 20% lower than the speed limit enforced in their respective regions for safety reasons. While there have been motions to utterly eliminate the speed limits in select roads throughout the nation, they have been met with great resistance amid safety concerns.

The continuous increase of motor vehicle usage and traffic in the nation overall has raised significant environmental concerns, including traffic congestion seen in almost all major cities and increasing greenhouse emissions. In order to curb the environmental footprint of motor vehicle usage, Zhenian cities have been expanding public transport services from densely populated urban centers to suburban areas, while it has been investing heavily in the proliferation of both electric and on the road; as of April 2020, over 2.3 million electric vehicles are said to be already on the road, while around 25,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles were already on Zhenian roads by the same year.

Expressway system
The National Expressway and the Zhenia National Road systems together compose one of the most extensive networks in the world. All National Expressways and National Road routes are owned and maintained by the Zhenia Expressway Corporation, which also oversees and the  system of Zhenian expressways, while some smaller-volume roads were built through civilian investment and are contracted for civilian operation for a 30-year period. With its plans laid out before the Second Great War and much of the construction done during the Third Republic, the National Expressway system links all province-level districts and nearly all major cities to the rest of the nation. Comprising of over 70,000 kilometers upon the completion of its Third Phase in 2010, the system connects most of the nation's major cities and areas of production with one another, as a core component to the nation's economy.

Many of the National Expressway routes are often linked with one another directly or through branch roads under the Zhenia National Road System. Somewhat a predecessor to the National Expressway system, National Roads are in principle not toll roads and are more of, although they are regarded regular roads when they are in urban areas. Covering areas in which the National Expressway does not pass as well as providing alternate routes to the National Expressway, National Roads are a major component of road infrastructure connecting most accessible points within the nation.

Road passenger transport




Bus services, both local and intercity, are very commonplace in the nation, with local buses mostly covering prefecture-level areas and intercity coach services offering coverage to most parts of the nation. While many local buses are operated by private enterprises with local government subsidies, some services in major cities, such as Daedo, Hansan and Shinhang, see city-wide bus services operated by public enterprises or directly by the prefecture-level government. While bus rates are proportionate to the distance traveled by the same ticket, discounts to select user groups, such as students and the elderly. Most local bus services do not charge for transfers within 90 minutes of debarkation from the previous bus, although select express bus and services in some cities operate under a separate fare system. Z Transit, a nationwide, -based transportation card system, has been implemented for usage in any of the nation's bus services, both local and intercity, since 2006. In accordance to the nation's 'Green Transport' policies since 2005, many provincial and local governments are promoting the implementation of electric and other 'zero-emission' buses in their transport networks, aiming to have 70% of local buses in the nation to be electric by 2030.

Intercity bus services are separated into two services depending on their stops and operating conditions - intercity and express coach. Intercity buses take more stops than their express counterparts and do not need to cover over 60% of their travel distance by expressway, while express coaches additionally need to cover a distance greater than 100 km and need to operate at least 60% of their travel distance via expressway. Unlike local bus services, both intercity and express coach services, with the exception of some remote, rural areas in western and northern Zhenia, are operated primarily by the private sector, competing in thousands of routes across the nation. While somewhat unpopular compared to intercity rail in long-distance journeys due to long travel times and the introduction of the ZNX, most intercity and express coach services have recently focused on providing relatively short-to-mid-distance transport as alternatives to existing intercity and ZNX train services.

Passenger taxi services are very common in most cities throughout the nation, primarily offering direct point-to-point services. Both local taxi companies and publicly-licensed services are allowed to operate taxi services around the clock throughout the nation, with the permits usually assessed and assigned by prefecture-level government. Pre-booked charter taxis are also available, although they are primarily used for longer trips at least 150 km in length. The government subsidizes a selected subset of local taxi services to offer needs-based taxi services connecting urban/suburban areas and rural services without any other mode of public transportation, as part of the Essential Access Initiative, with such often being the most affordable modes of transport into urban areas from rural areas the initiative services. services have become common recently, fiercely competing for the precarious market share of much of the nation's taxi services in many of the nation's major cities, while experimentation regarding the usage of self-driving autonomous vehicles in taxi services is underway across the nation. On December 1, 2019, Shinhang became the first city in the nation to allow taxi operations by self-driving cars throughout the metropolitan municipality.

Road cargo transport
Although rail constitutes a considerable portion of all freight transport within the nation, transport of cargo through the nation of road networks via commercial motor vehicles, particularly semi-trucks, box trucks and dump trucks, remain as a widely-used method of transporting cargo. Cargo transport through road is a crucial component of the nation's economy in the transport of raw materials, intermediate products and finished goods over land, directly linking the areas of production with manufacturing plants and depots for retail distribution. Long-range trucking throughout the nation contributes to an average of 40% of all traffic in the National Expressway network, although the percentage can increase to around 65% depending on location and the time of day and year. Several truck stops are primarily located along frequently-used roads and National Expressway routes, while some of them are also shared with long-range intercity bus services.

Rail




Rail remains one of the most commonly-used means of transport, with Zhenia's railways carrying over 3.3 billion tonne-kilometers of, around 1.2 trillion passenger-kilometres and around 3.6 billion passenger trips as of 2015. Zhenia is home to strong rail infrastructure, with the first railroads dating back to the Empire of Zhenia. Being home to over 135,000 km of tracks as of 2015, Zhenia is home to some of the largest rail networks in the nation, almost all of which is owned and maintained by ZhenRail and its subsidiaries. Around 82.5% of the nation's rail network is electrified and almost all of its network double-tracked as of 2015, although the percentage of electrification is set to increase to 90.4% by 2025.

Passenger rail
Despite facing competition against road transport and passenger air services since the 20th century, rail remains one of the most commonly used means of intercity passenger transport in Zhenia: with an annual ridership of over 3.5 billion in 2018 and an average travel distance of 348.9 kilometers per passenger, passenger rail remains prevalent in medium-to-long distance passenger transport. Intercity passenger rail, ranging from to commuter rail lines, provide high coverage throughout the nation, with all province-level administrative divisions and cities with a population of over 500,000 seeing passenger rail services at least twice a day. ZhenRail and its subsidies operate almost all intercity passenger lines, while a select number of lines and a majority of urban rail lines are normally operated by transport companies owned or chartered by local governments, and some rail lines built under a  (BTO/BTL) scheme operated by private rail companies.

Passenger rail transport, aside from urban rail systems, are categorized into three tiers according to maximum speed and frequency of stops. The first tier, consisting almost entirely of ZNX trains, offer the most direct services between major cities with minimal stops and in higher speeds. The second tier, consisting of regular trains, make more frequent stops between cities than ZNX trains and are subdivided into classes according to their varying speeds and number of stops. The third tier, consisting of stopping trains and commuter trains, make the most frequent stops.

In addition to intercity passenger rail transport, total of 32 cities across the nation operate dedicated services on heavy rail, while an additional 58 operate their own light rail or tram lines of any form in urban areas. The Daedo Metropolitan Subway, the oldest and largest urban rail transit system in the nation, is also one of the world's largest both by ridership and by length. There are subway systems in other major cities, including Jinhae, Changan, Shinhang, Bakhan, Ariul, Geonju and Zhuhae, while numerous smaller cities also make use of services to connect urban areas with suburban residential areas. Some light rail lines across the nation have come under competition with services in recent years, despite the prevalence of rail nationwide amid rail-friendly regulations and increased environmental standards against bus transportation.

High-speed rail
The Zhenia National Express is the nation's primary service, as well as one of the first dedicated high-speed rail services in the world. Commencing service in 1974, it has received extensive funding and support from the government, consisting of almost 20,000 kilometers of tracks and transporting over 1.3 billion passengers each year. Primarily connecting the nation's population centers both inland and along the Golden Arc region. Due to prioritization of high-speed rail transport in signalling and traffic due to ZhenRail's ownership over almost all passenger tracks in Zhenia, ZNX trains are well-known for their punctuality, with 99.2% of all ZNX services arriving and departing no later than 5 minutes on average. ZNX technology has also been attempted for international export several times, successfully exporting its technology to Toloria and Educandi.

The first ZNX services commenced operations between Daedo and Changan in 1974, reducing the travel time between the two cities from the previous 7 hours and 58 minutes with conventional rail service to around 4 hours and 25 minutes. Service in several other dedicated high-speed lines across the nation followed suit, further reducing travel times between the nation's major cities by rail. Further developments to introduce trains into high-demand routes, such as the Daedo-Changan route and along the Golden Arc line, are underway, with initial operation expected to commence around 2025.

Freight
Freight trains in Zhenia, as a key backbone of the Zhenian economy, are primarily used to ship bulk cargo across the nation. As of 2018, around 32% of all cargo tonnage within Zhenia had been transported by rail, well above the global average. Most of the shipped cargo tonnage consists of coal and metal ore, followed by steel, grain and refined minerals. Despite receiving major hits due to the rise of motorized cargo transport in the later half of the 20th century, the demand for and the importance of freight rail is said to increase greatly amid environmental regulations and economic development in the west. Freight rail transport in Zhenia is a competition market led by several different railroad companies, both public and private, unlike passenger rail transport. Some freight rail lines share tracks with passenger lines, although many of them are given dedicated tracks as a significant portion of freight rail remains non-electrified.

Air


The Zhenian aviation industry is one of the largest in the world, with almost 1 billion passengers flying on domestic or international routes as of 2019. With 361 airports officially in operation within the nation, Zhenia is one of the most connected nations in the world, flying to all six major continents via direct flight. Although there are numerous smaller airfields scattered across the nation, only 361 are officially recognized as airports by the Ministry of Transportation. The nation's major international gateways are Daedo Capital International Airport (Daedo), Shin Jinhae International Airport (Jinhae and the Taimir River Delta area) and Changan International Airport (Changan); other major air traffic hubs in the nation include Ariul International Airport, Kim Shimin International Airport outside Dongdo and Shinhang International Airport.

Although there are three (FSC) and 13  (LCC) operating in the nation, the nation's official  remains to be Zhenian Airways, a full-service carrier that formerly a nationalized airline until 1998. It is one of the few airlines in the world offering flights all six continents, with 360 destinations over 85 nations. Other major airlines in the nation include Air Zhenia, StarEast Airlines, Zhenia Eastern Air and Danguk International Airlines. The airline industry is altogether regulated by the Department of Territories and Transport, while overall over Zhenian airspace is overseen by the National Air Traffic Authority (NATA).

Maritime


Located in the eastern seaboard of Tarsis, Zhenia is a major seafaring nation, being home to one of the world's largest industries and some of the world's busiest ports by cargo loading. It has over 1,500 ports, almost 700 of which are designated as international trade ports open to foreign ships. Among the busiest ports by cargo loading capacity include Daedo, Jinhae, Shinhang, Dongdo, Jin-Nampo, Zhuhae, Bukju and Suripo. While most of such ports are state-owned, oversight on such ports are normally the task of province-level or prefecture-level port authorities.

While there are a considerable amount of ferry services connecting the nation's many islands in the Gulf of Danguk and the East Zhenian Sea, as well as services across the Gulf, a considerable amount of maritime traffic in Zhenia is dedicated to cargo transport. With most of the nation's major rivers, including the Taimir and Weisu rivers, navigable, inland water transport is frequently used as the primary means to transport cargo and resources from central Zhenia to the Gulf of Danguk and beyond, with inland river ports acting as prior to export.