Beginning construction under the British Empire, the National Rail & Road System is a testament to human engineering. It consists of two-lane concrete highways running parallel to double-lane standard gauge railroad. The whole thing is controlled, maintained and protected by two different government agencies; the National Rail Workers Syndicate (which manages the railways) and the Public Works Service (which manages the highways), both vicious rivals but united in their struggle to keep the trains running and the wheels turning against all odds.
Use of the National Rail & Road System may incur a form of payment, a major source of income for the Department of Transport. This may be a rail fee (dependent solely on the weight and volume of goods or persons being transported) or a road toll (dependent on the size of the vehicles used). Those who do choose not to pay fees or force their way through are said to be "jumping the rattler", referring to the stupidly dangerous act of jumping a rattler snake, which will eventually bite them back.
For travelling across the Outback, crossing the Snowy Mountains or reaching from the Pacific to the Indian, using the NR&R system is practically required.