Standard Eastern Rail

Sometimes referred to as Eastern Standards, the Standard Eastern Rail is a term used to describe a series of standardized train types with preset characteristics by Class, which include gauge, voltage, and characteristics as specific as the distance between doors or the total amount of carriages per train.

The SER was created in 1955 as part of an innitiative lead by the Riamese Government, which aimed to create a set of standardized train characteristics throughout Riamo, hoping it would reduce development, planning, and construction costs for future updates to the different rail-based transportation systems.

As of 2021, the national railway networks of Riamo, Hoterallia, and Gran Rugido have been standardized following the SER standards, with many rail-based transport around the world also having been built to SER standards.

Classes

The list of standard train classes has been reviewed in multiple occasions, but the fundamentals have not changed since 1955.

• A - High Speed Rail
  • AS - Shinkansen-Type High Speed - 3kV Catenary, 250m long trains (up to 350 km/h)
  • A1 - Standard High Speed, long - 3kV Catenary, 200m long trains (up to 320 km/h)
  • A2 - Standard High Speed, short - 3kV Catenary, 130m long trains (up to 320 km/h)

• B - Normal Speed Rail
  • B1 - 3000V electrification, Catenary, 8 carriage variation
  • B2 - 3000V electrification, Catenary, 10 carriage variation
  • BT - 3000V electrification, third rail (exclusive for mountain trains or mining operations)

• C - Commuting/Short Distance/Suburban Rail
  • C0 - non-electrified (diesel unless specified otherwise)
  • CS - 3kV Catenary, 76m long (in desuse)
  • C1 - 3kV Catenary, 102m long
  • C2 - 3kV Catenary, 130m long
  • C3 - 3kV Catenary, 156m long

• M - Metros/Subways
  • M1 - 1500V DC, 102m long, 6 carriage subway trains (extremely common)
  • M2 - 1500V DC, 130m long, 8 carriage subway trains
  • M1K - 20kV AC, 102m long, 6 carriage subway trains (in desuse)
  • M2K - 20kV AC, 130m long, 8 carriage subway trains (in desuse)
  • MM - Monorail, 20kV AC, 130m long, 8 carriage subway trains

• T - Surface Trams
  • T1 - 3 cars, 600V DC Catenary
  • T2 - 5 cars, 600V DC Catenary

Notes:

• "Catenary" refers to overhead non-rigid wires
• "K" is often used to refer to DC currents

Benefits

While the SER stabdards have become synonymous with rail transportation in nations like Riamo, some countries remain skeptical about the idea, with many considering it as a matter of national security to keep different rail characteristic across international borders.

However, it is to be mentioned that those countries which have implemented the SER standards across their systems have experienced a steep decline on research, development and construction times and costs theoughout their systems^{[4] [5]}, mostly due to the lack of a preparation and study phase to determine the type of transport to be used^[6].

The reduction in costs has also had an impact on air travel, with the battle between air and rail not being such a reocurrent theme in the east as it was been in the west ^{[7] [8]}.

See more

Riamo
Rail Transportation in Riamo
Shinkansen
Hoterallia
Gran Rugido
Anteria