What is the advantages of rail transport?

Answer 1

Advantages of railway 1.Safety Reliable transportation of goods is the primary and determining precondition for its quality. Comparing rail traffic with other traffic modes, we find out the rail traffic is undoubtedly the most reliable traffic mode. This reliability does not result from a lower number of traffic accidents, but also lesser losses incurred from these accidents. Making use of the rail traffic we prevent dozens of casualties, hundreds of injuries and tens of millions of losses each year. Accident rate of rail traffic participants is almost zero, which is not true for automobile, neither air transport. The road transport carries along a direct danger for participants’ safety in every accident. Thereunto, the most serious accidents on rail tracks are caused by motor vehicles drivers at railway crossings. High level of safety makes the rail traffic one of the most favorable traffic modes. At the same time, rail traffic disburdens overburdened network of highways and primary roads, which contributes to a smooth and safe road transport, which ensures better prevention from damages and losses on transported goods. 2.Responsibility for ecology Human activities do not recognize borders of countries and continents; we are continuously observing a growth of production as well as consumption. The growth accompanies us on each step, including transport. Number and volume of transportations are growing and requirements on speed, punctuality, reliability and flexibility of transportations are increasing day by day. Millions of tons of goods transported each day by various traffic modes have an impact on quality of environment. Responsibility for its maintenance is a duty of all men and organizations. regardless of the more and more perceptible appeal to environment protection. Ability of meeting customer’s requirements in an environment-friendly manner has therefore become one of the basic criteria for quality of transport services, as well as a significant competitive advantage of railway carriers. Railway traffic is an efficient and environment-friendly transport system in many cases, whereas large volumes of goods can be transported on long distances quickly and with a minor impact on environment. Compared with automobile or air transport, railway transport produces the lowest amount of emissions and requires much lower costs on regeneration of damaged environment. From the total amount of costs on reduction of negative impacts of transport industry on environment, only 8% comes from railway transport, while up to 90% comes from road transport, even though its traffic performance is by 50% lower than the traffic performance of railway transport. Another important argument placing the railway transport above the road transport is a lower occupation of agricultural land. While road transport occupies almost 74% of such land, railway transport occupies 27% only, even though its traffic performance is almost twice as big as the one of the road traffic It can also be proved by the fact, that almost 7 hectares of agricultural land is needed in the road transport to execute 1 million of tonkilometers, while in railway transport it is 1 hectare only. Also noise strain produced by the railway transport on environment is lower than by the road transport. Intensity of rail traffic results from time tables and railway network is mostly built up out of urban zones, while several strong road traffic streams are also directed to urban zones. 3.Transportation capacity and price conditions In national economy, the railway traffic has its specific and irreplaceable position. It enables and facilitates transportations of goods, transportation of which by a different traffic mode would be too expensive and therefore inefficient. It enables transportation of bigger quantity of goods on long or medium distances at relatively low costs. Lower transport restrictions In comparison with road carriers, the important advantage of railway transport can also be lower transport restrictions. The road carriers must respect several regulations, such as limitations in utilizing highways and primary roads, limitations in traffic peaks, or obligations to keep safety breaks. Advantage of railway transport out of the EU countries is also shorter waiting times on border crossings. 4.Optimalization of transport processes Considering all transport claims a new trend of a combined transport is coming to the sphere of transportations. This transportation system lays stress on utilizing of railway transport supplemented by advantages of other traffic modes. It combines flexibility and fast transposition of goods with a reasonable consumption of energy and positive ecological aspect, minimizes impacts on environment and that way charges the society with rational ecological costs. An unquestionable advantage of the combined transport is a possibility of connection to integrated logistic chain using combined transport units and “door-to-door” delivery of goods. As transportation in combined transport units is executed without goods handling , there is a lower risk of losses or damages on goods and therefore the whole transportation process is accelerated.