International Railway Union
Template:MER-infobox organization The International Railway Union (IRU) is a multinational organization with the aim to provide regulations, rules and standards, making the worlds railway systems interoperable and strengthen international rail traffic. The IRU is temporarily headquartered in Mergany.
History
Railways in Uletha, Tarephia and Archanta started to standardize their railways in the 1920s.
Organisation and members
Structure
- Antarephia Department
- Astrasia Department
- Archanta Major Department
- East Uletha Department
- Tarephia Department
- West Uletha Department
Technical committees
Technical committees of the IRU usually consist of leading railway experts of the member nations and companies.
Membership
Different kinds of memberships exist in the IRU:
- Railway governing agencies are National members, they convert IRU-specifications into national laws/guidelines.
- Rolling stock manufacturers and railway construction companies are Primary members.
- Independent research institutions and academic departments are Associated members.
- Passenger or freight train operators can become Applied Members.
List of railways by country
The list includes all railway networks, operators, institutions related to railway and railway manufacturing companies.
Only for testing purposes so far!
Standards
International standards regarding railway infrastructure are either newly defined by the IRUs' technical committees or existing national standards are adopted and translated.
Some IRU-Codes (IRU-C) are:
Track gauges
- IRU-C 302: The standard gauge, also called normal gauge, is a widely used railway track gauge with a distance of 1435 mm between the inside edges of the rails.
- IRU-C 304: Broad gauges are all railway track gauges broader than the standard gauge, e.g. the Karolian broad gauge, or simply the Karolian gauge, with 1544 mm between the inside edges of the rails, used in Karolia, Darcodia and Meridonia, the broad gauge with 1780mm used for the AVE-hi-speed railway in Latina or the Norlensk gauge with 1892 mm used in Norðurland. By contrast narrow gauges are all railway track gauges narrower than the standard gauge, e.g. the meter gauge with 1000 mm used in Ataraxia, Commonia and Paroy or the Cape gauge (named after the railway engineer Jonathan Cape) with 1067 mm used in Karvaland, New Ingerland and the South Astrasian Federation.
Loading gauges
- IRU-C 311: Loading gauges defines the maximum width and height for railway vehicles (including their loads) to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures. The classification system usually varies between different countries. Loading gauges can vary across a network, even if the track gauge remains constant.
Electrification
- IRU-C 322: Common electrification systems for overhead lines are 1500 V DC, 3000 V DC, 15000 V 16 2/3 Hz AC (sometimes 16.67 Hz or 16.7 Hz) and 25000 V 50 Hz AC.
Other notable standards
- IRU-C 631: To transmit data (or commands) between two locomotives or a locomotive and the carriages of a passenger train a standardized 17-corded connection cable is used.
- IRU-C 893: The IRU-pallet is the worldwide standard pallet. Pallets conforming to the standardization are eligible for the World Pallet Exchange Pool (WPEP) organized by the World Organization of Trade and thus allow for an exchange as "pallet for pallet". IRU-pallets are made of wood with 1200 mm by 800 mm by 150 mm such that they are also compatible with the Paroyan proportionate entity.