Thursday, 12 December 2013

The Benefits And Limitations Of Using Rail Services For Transportation

By Jeannie Chapman


Travelers normally choose the mode of transport they want to use depending on the cost, how fast it gets them to their destination, safety and even comfort among others. Rail services play a major role both within the city or country and internationally. This means of travel is highly depended on in developing trade, industry and commerce of a country. There are various advantages of using this mode of transportation both for movement of people and goods as well as limitations.

The presence of proper rail network linking different places and even countries, trains have favored the transportation of goods more so bulky and heavy ones from one place to the other. This mode of transport is very convenient unlike road transport. Noticeable growth in transnational trade has been realized when goods are transported from one city to another or even one country to another.

It is a regular and relatively faster means of movement in comparison to buses, which are prone to traffic snarl-ups. Many travelers opt for trains given the habit of schedules with time that puts a level of reliability to it. This is more so because most people operate on a fixed schedule depending on the work one does.

Owing to the rising number of road traffic accidents mostly common in the developing world, people have switched more to this type of transport. This is put on check by stringent checks by well-trained technicians who perform routine checks on the engine and rails. Comfort is another package that cannot go unnoticed as passengers have adequate sitting spaces as opposed to buses.

The carrying capacity of trains is very large and where need be can even be enlarged by adding more wagons. This helps to transport many goods and people from one place to another unlike vehicles which are limited to a certain number of people at a time. It promotes growth of industries through transportation of labor hence people living in far off places are employed reducing crime in the country.

When comparing options it is never fair to only look into the pros and ignore the cons, his very convenient option of travelling has its share of challenges too. The sum of money required to set up is so huge, which explains the reason why the services are not spread everywhere. It is a big challenge to run it in a scarcely populated area, as the operating cost is so high.

The fact that it uses time schedules makes it not flexible to individual needs where a person could have wanted to travel at a different time to another route. It does not provide door to door services like vehicle transport since it uses tracks. There is a lot of time wasted in booking of tickets unlike other modes of transport like vehicles.

Trains may prove a little slow especially in cross border transport of goods as the process of loading and offloading at different points of the way may cause delays. The services are only limited to places that have a railway network which is not a common feature in most rural places thus limiting such people from using it. Rail services tend to be costly when used for short distances and transportation of small goods, which are not very heavy therefore, in such situations road transport is more appropriate.




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