Konfaŭ

The Council of Railroad Authorities, commonly known by its abbreviated name Konfaŭ from Konsilio de Fervojaj Aŭtoritatoj, is the coordinating and regulatory body for all railway authorities throughout Navodara. Established in 527 through Planetary Council Resolution No. 0527-008, the Konfaŭ consists of the executive director of each railway system, five representatives from the Planetary Council, and three representatives from the Public Transportation Board with any amount of non-voting observers and advisors assigned by the Protectorate. The council has the power to review, amend, suspend, and enforce regulations pertaining to railways and to discipline all railway authorities and their personnel for violations.

There are 47 railway authorities throughout the planet, each connected to one another. They are not necessarily connected to a specific dominion nor do the answer to local governments. Instead, the Konfaŭ reports directly to the Protector, who in turn has the customary power of review over the decisions of the council. In theory, the Protectorate can create and dissolve railway authorities, but the number has remained the same for almost a century.

The railways and their properties are not considered to be under dominion control and enjoy protectorial immediacy, referring to the Konfaŭ reporting directly to the Protector and not the dominions. Thus, each railway system can be considered a polity in its own right and may have their own rules and regulations. However, some are more integrated with local dominion laws than others. Because of this, expansion of railway systems generally entails long and comprehensive discussions, which usually require intervention from third parties, such as the Protectorate. The Konfaŭ has pushed for standardization and alignment of railway system rules and regulations in recent years and has made great progress in that regard.

The largest railway system is the Darmapuro Metro, which covers the capital, its dominion, and the surrounding dominions. It is part of the 9-member International Rapid Transit Consortium, which allows for the usage of a single card for fare payments and in-station transactions for all their stations and terminals. There is also the 5-member Eastern Railways Development Group. Calls for a universal transaction system for the railways have been common in recent years, but the railway authorities have been adamant that such a development should come organically instead of being imposed by the state given how complex and different the railway authorities are with how they approach their services and development.