1. The advantages & disadvantages of railway transport.
Railway transport occupies a significant role in the transport system of a country because the
development of trade, industry and commerce of a country largely depends on the development of
railways.
Advantages:
i. It facilitate long distance travel and transport of bulky goods which are not easily transported through
motor vehicles.
ii. It is a quick and more regular form of transport because it helps in the transportation of goods with
speed and certainty.
iii. It helps in the industrialization process of a country by easy transportation of coal and raw-materials at
a cheaper rate.
iv. It helps in the quick movement of goods from one place to another at the time of emergencies like
famines and scarcity.
v. It encourages mobility of labour ad thereby provides a great scope for employment.
vi. Railway is the safest form of transport. The chances of accidents and breakdown of railways are
minimum as compared to other modes of transport. Moreover, the traffic can be protected from the
exposure to sun, rain snow etc.
vii. The carrying capacity of the railways is extremely large. Moreover, its capacity is elastic which can
easily be increased by adding more wagons.
viii. It is the largest public undertaking in the country. Railways perform many public utility services.
Their charges are based on charge what the traffic can bear principles which helps the poor. In fact, it is a
national necessity.
Disadvantages:
i. The railway requires a large investment of capital. The cost of construction, maintenance and overhead
expenses are very high as compared to other modes of transport. Moreover, the investments are specific
and immobile. In case the traffic is not sufficient, the investments may mean wastage of huge resources.
ii. Another disadvantages of railway transport is its inflexibility. It routes and timings cannot be adjusted
to individual requirements.
iii. Rail transport cannot provide door to door service as it is tied to a particular track. Intermediate
loading or unloading involves greater cost, more wear and tear and wastage of time. The time cost of
terminal operations are a great disadvantage of rail transport.
iv. As railways require huge capital outlay, they may give rise to monopolies and work against public
interest at large. Even if controlled and managed by the government, lack of competition may breed in
inefficiency and high costs.
v. Railway transport is unsuitable and uneconomical for short distances and small traffic of goods.
vi. It involves much time and labour in booking and taking delivery of goods through railways
ascompared to motor transport.
vii. Because of huge capital requirements and traffic, railways cannot be operated economically in rural
areas. Thus,large rural areas have no railway even today. This causes much inconvenience to the people
living in rural areas.

2. The Role of Transport in Economic Development
Efficient transport is a critical component of economic development, globally and nationally. Transport
availability affects global development patterns and can be a boost or a barrier to economic growth within
individual nations.6
Transportation investments link factors of production together in a web of
relationships between producers and consumers to create a more efficient division of production, leverage
geographical comparative advantage,and provide the means to expand economies of scale and scope.
Transport’s contribution to economic development includes the following:
 Network effects—linking more locations exponentially increases the value and effectiveness of
transport
 Performance improvements—reducing cost and time for existing passenger and freight movements
increase transport’s contribution to economic growth
 Reliability—improves time performance and reduces loss and damage, thus reducing economic drag
 Market size-access to wider markets adds to economies of scale in production, distribution, and
consumption, thereby increasing economic growth
 Productivity—transport increases productivity gained from access to a larger and more diverse base of
inputs such as raw materials, parts, energy, and labor, and broader markets for more diverse outputs
Transport has affected economic development from the beginning of human civilization. Economic
development focused on the confluence of transport systems — early cities grew up on natural bays and
ports, and on rivers and lakes where transport was available. Romans built roads to unify and provide
access to their far-flung empire. Geographic characteristics such as proximity to oceans, seas,and
waterways,plains, mountains and the location of oases defined early transport systems (e.g.,the “Silk
Road” went from oasis to oasis, and city to city, where there were no reliable water or road routes).
The industrial revolution generated new transport demands, which required higher volumes of coal, iron
ore, and other materials; this led to canalconstruction that extended water transport, and to early railway
development.