The '''Railway Union of the Shafterlands''' (Krepian: Shaffyrlenen des Careta Fer des Untengkan), also known as '''RUS''' (Krepian: SCFU), is a trade union comprised of many private trains, tram and rolling stock companies from [[the Shafterlands]] and surrounding countries.
The union comprises 103 private railways, 92 tramways and 8 rolling stock companies. Founded in 1923 as an agreement between the North Eastern Railway, Fresbury Metro and Anders Heavy Industries (now known as EndeRails), the union has gradually expanded over the years to include most train companies in Shafterlandean Sumatra and the Krepian archipelago.
The Railway Union continuously evolved to become a negotiation platform between train and tram companies, reducing duplicate lines throughout the Shafterlands and also the Krepian archipelago. It also brought many railway companies into the realm of real estate, thus turning many unprofitable companies around.
== Rolling stockStock classificationClassification ==
See [[Shafterlandean rolling stock numbering and classification]]
One of the distinctive features of a company in the RUS is their rolling stock's classification numbers. The RUS strongly encourages member firms to use their common classification number so that in the event of an emergency, other companies can help to maintain the rolling stock. This proved to be useful in 2005 when Fresbury was crippled by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, and Fresbury Metro lost the Line 4 depot and most Line 4 train cars. The remaining cars in semi-working condition were sent to depots operated by North Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway to be repaired.
Carriage numbers come in the form L(XXX) NN(NN), where L is a letter representing the type of railcar, XXX is the class number made up of 0 to 3 digits, and NNNN is the carriage number made up of 2 to 4 digits.
=== Railcar types ===
{|
! Letter
! style="text-align:left;"| Description
|-
|A
|Steam-powered railcars
|-
|B
|Diesel multiple units
|-
|C
|Electric multiple units
|-
|D
|Odd-gauge railcars ("gauge" here refers to loading gauge)
|-
|E
|Limited speed trains
|-
|F
|Flat cars
|-
|G
|Well cars
|-
|H
|Other power Multiple Units (Hydrogen Fuel Cell, Solar Power)
|-
|J
|Brake vans (hypothetical classification, pneumatic brakes were installed since the very first train in the Shafterlands)
|-
|K
|Diesel locomotives
|-
|L
|Electric locomotives
|-
|M
|Maglev trains
|-
|N
|Tank cars
|-
|0 (zero)
|Extra trailer cars (for multiple units)
|-
|P
|Open wagon/hopper car
|-
|Q
|Bulletproof cars (usually for the Emperor or the Prime Minister)
|-
|R
|Trailer cars (for locomotives)
|-
|S
| High-speed trains
|-
|T
|Trams
|}
=== Extra classification ===
In addition, locomotives usually carry an extra letter between the classification number and unit number denoting the number of axles. (E.g. A56C 11 for the 11th unit of class A56, which has 3 driving axles (0-6-0 locomotive).)
The first digit of a 2- or 3-digit classification number in "normal" powered vehicles (B, C, D, K and L types) is used to represent the power type. (High-speed, maglev and limited-speed trains use an arbitrary number)
'''C and L types'''
{|
|1-2
|DC trains, bottom contact third rail powered
|-
|3-4
|AC trains
|-
|5-6
|AC/DC trains
|-
|7-8
|DC trains, overhead wire powered
|-
|9
|Experimental trains
|}
<hr>
'''B and K types'''
{|
|1-2
|Non-hydraulic trains
|-
|3-4
|Single engine hydraulic trains
|-
|5-6
|Double engine hydraulic trains
|-
|7-8
|Gas turbine trains
|-
|9
|Experimental trains
|}
<hr>
'''D type''' (letter suffixes are placed between class and carriage number)
{|
|1
|Non-hydraulic DMUs
|-
|2
|DC DEMUs, overhead wire
|-
|2A
|DC DEMUs, standard 3rd rail
|-
|2B
|DC DEMUs, side contact 3rd rail
|-
|2C
|DC DEMUs, top contact 3rd rail
|-
|3
|BEMUs
|-
|4
|DC EMUs, overhead wire
|-
|4A
|DC EMUs, top contact 3rd rail
|-
|4B
|DC EMUs, side contact 3rd rail
|-
|4C
|DC EMUs, standard 3rd rail
|-
|5
|Hydraulic DMU
|-
|6
|Gas turbine DMU
|-
|7
|AC EMU
|-
|8A
|AC/DC DEMUs, overhead wire
|-
|8B
|AC DEMUs
|-
|9
|Experimental trains
|}
<hr>
Since most trains owned by RUS companies are C-type trains, the letter "C" is often omitted in the classification number. ''E.g. C29 222 becomes 29 222''
In multiple units (B, C, D, E, S types), the last digit of the carriage number is usually used to represent the carriage type. If there are 5 or fewer carriages in a trainset, multiple numbers can be used to represent the same carriage type. ''E.g. Class C4 has 3 cars per trainset, so 4001, 4004 and 4007 belong to different trainsets but are of the same carriage type (in this case, a driving trailer)''
Similarly, if there are more than 10 carriages in a trainset, 2 trainset numbers or even 2 classes can be used to represent the same class of train. ''E.g. Class C32 has 12 cars per trainset, so 32 05x and 32 06x are the same trainset.''
Since leading zeros always represent extra trailer cars, in the event that a class of train uses more than 100 trainset numbers (e.g. C69 runs from 69 0011 to 69 2547), future 3-digit class numbers that coincide with the leading 3 digits of these classes will not be allowed to carry 3-digit carriage numbers. ''C41 runs from 41 0010 to 41 1299, and as such, classes C410 and C411 must have 4 digit carriage numbers. In fact, C411 runs from 411 0001 to 411 0012, and despite only having 12 railcars, requires a 4-digit carriage number.''
<hr>
The first digit in a passenger locomotive trailer (R type) is used to represent the class.
'''R type'''
{|
|1
|1st class seats
|-
|2
|2nd class seats
|-
|3
|3rd class seats
|-
|4
|Baggage and mail car
|-
|5
|1st class sleeper
|-
|6
|2nd class sleeper
|-
|7
|Dining car
|-
|8
|Hospital car (wartime)
|-
|9
|Other
|}
== Projects ==
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