Land Transport

The earliest form of land transport was man himself and later on animals were domesticated. The invention of the wheel was another major step forward in the development of transport. The type of animals used for transport varies from region to region, depending on the climate or the terrain. Generally speaking however, none is as important as the horse, which originated in the rolling temperate grasslands of the Eurasian steppes.

Roads

They are the most universal form of communication and also the most varied. The need for better roads arose from the rapid increase in traffic, due to the improvement of agriculture, the growth of industry, and the need for moving about large quantities of goods quickly and cheaply. Among the first countries to establish a nationwide highway network of this kind was Germany. The other European nations such as Belgium, France, Italy and Britain have also constructed major highway networks known by various names such as auto routes (French), autostrade (Italian) and motorways (English) to facilitate modern high speed motoring.

Railways

The first public railway was opened between Stockton and Darlington in northern England 1825. Commuter trains are very important in such countries as Britain, the U.S.A. and Japan and carry thousands of people each day.

The greatest railway densities are found in the industrial regions of Western Europe. Belgium has the greatest density. Underground railways are important in many European capitals, e.g. London, Paris, Moscow, and carry huge numbers of passengers.

Probably the most important railway in Asia is the Trans-Siberian Railway. This line starts in European Russia but much of its 8,960km. (5,600 miles) length is east of the Urals. It is mainly double-track and runs from Leningard and Moscow in the west to Vladivostok in the east.

Japanese railway are mainly electrified and are noted for their speed and efficiency. The Tokyo-Osaka or Tokaido Express is world famous.

Pipelines

Pipes have been used to transport water from place for thousands of years, but pipelines are now becoming an increasingly important form of transport. They carry not only crude oil from the oilfields to the refineries but also petroleum products from refineries to markets. Some solids are also transported via pipelines by converting them into slurry.

Water Transport

Inland waterways

The largest rivers such as the Amazon, the Chang Jiang (Yangtze Kiang) and Mississippi are capable of carrying large steam craft over long distances while smaller streams may only be usable by tiny canoes or dugouts. Modern canals such as the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Manchester Ship Canal, however, can carry large craft well inland. There are basically three types of inland water ways, namely rivers, rivers which have been modified or canalized, and specially constructed canals. In many parts of the tropics as in the Amazon and the Zaire basins and South-East Asia, rivers often play a vital role in the transport as the terrain is too densely forested for any land based transport. In countries such as China, India and Egypt, river basins have been the nuclei of civilization and empire building. Canals are specially constructed channels for either ocean-going or inland vessels. They have been used since ancient times in China and were also built in Europe. Some of the important inland waterways-

(a)     The Rhine Waterway. The Rhine flows through Switzerland. West Germany and the Netherlands and forms the eastern border of France. Through a network of interlinking canals it serves as a chief mode of inland transport for these regions linking them to the North Sea.

(b)     Waterways of the Germanic-Baltic Lowlands. An extensive network of water ways consisting of east-west canals joining the north-south flowing rivers crosses the North German Plain. Near Hamburg another canal the Kiel Canal, 96 km (60 miles) long and 14 meters (45 ft) deep, links the Elbe estuary to the Baltic Sea, improving access to the Scandinavian countries. The Dortmund-Ems Canal runs north-south and links the Rhine with the ports of Bremen and Emden.

(c)     Waterways of Southern Germany. The region is served mainly by the Danube which flows through seven different countries Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania and Bulgaria-before draining into the Black Sea. The Ludwig Canal links the Maine, a tributary of the Rhine to the Danube and allows water borne traffic from the Black Sea to reach the Mediterranean Sea through the Rhone-Rhine Canal or the Atlantic via the Rhine.

In the U.S.A. the most important inland waterway is formed by the Mississippi and its many tributaries. Apart from this there is the Great lakes and St. Lawrence waterway which is crucial for the Industrial development of the region.

Law of seas

Zones of Jurisdiction

(1)     Territorial waters over which a state has full sovereignty are recognized as extending for 19 km (12 nautical miles) from the coast. This allows countries to claim the waters between its islands.

2.       A further 19-km (12 mile) contiguous zone is recognized in which the coastal state can take action against those who break the law within the true territorial waters. This is a pursuit zone.

3.       Probably most importance is the recognition of a 320-km (200-mile) exclusive economic zone (E.E.Z.) which starts at the same base line as to the territorial waters. Within the E.E.Z. the coastal state has the right to exploit all economic resources like fishes, minerals etc.

4.       A modified arrangement is recognized on the continental shelf states may claim rights to seabed resources for at least 320 km and may extend these rights as much as 1280 km in some cases-though this does not include rights to the sea itself beyond the 320-km E.E.Z.

5.       Beyond all the zones in which individual countries can claim control are the high seas. The high seas are free to navigation by vessels of all nations.

Nautical Mile

A Nautical Mile is the distance measured along the Great Circle joining two points which subtend one minute of arc at the centre of the Earth.  Taking the radius of the Earth to be equal to 3960 miles,

1 Nautical Mile = 1.85 kilometres

Major Ports of world

Ocean routes of world

North Atlantic Route

• Busiest ocean trade route which connects the ports of western coast of Europe with the ports on the east coast of North America.
• Developed and very dense populated regions are located on both sides.
• The foreign trade of the North Atlantic route is greater than any other route of the world

Ports

Ports on the east coast of North America-New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto (through the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway)

Ports on the west coast of Europe-Goteborg, Oslo, Copenhagen, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, London, Southampton, Glasgow, Liverpool, Le Havre, Lisbon etc.

The Suez Canal Route

• Passes through the heart of the world and connects Europe with the Far East through Suez Canal.
• Shortens the distance between Europe and South Asian countries by 9000 km.
• It was once considered as lifeline of Britain.
• Oil supplies from Middle East, raw material from tropical Asia and manufactured goods from Europe are the main trade commodities.
• Mediterranean ports- Marseilles, Gibralter, Genoa, Venice, Athens, Naples are ports of Europe and Algiers, Port Said are ports of Africa.
• Asian ports- Aden, Karachi, Mumbai, Colombo, Singapore and Manila.
• Important ports of call-Mombassa, Zanzibar, Mozambique, Aden, Mumbai, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.

The Panama Canal Route

• Connects the Pacific Ocean with Atlantic Ocean.
• Increase the trade between the countries of both Atlantic and Pacific seaboards since the opening of Panama Canal in 1914.
• Facilitated the trade in oil, minerals, food stuffs, raw materials, and manufactured goods
• West and east coast of USA are the most benefited region.
• Panama and Colon are important ports on the Panama Canal.
• Save the distance between New York and Auckland.
• Ports of Gulf Coast of USA and Caribbean States are also important.

The Cape Route

• Connects the countries of western Europe with western and southern part of Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
• Port of West Europe: London, Liverpool, Cardiff, Lisbon Southampton, etc.
• Port of Africa: Cape Toan, Port Elizabeth
• Port of Australia: Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney.

The Trans-Pacific Route

• Connects the ports of western coast of North America with the ports of East Asia
• Several routes of the Trans-Pacific converge at Honolulu (the crossroads of Pacific).
• Ports of North America: Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles deals with timber, wheat, paper-pulp, fish etc.
• Ports of East Asia: Shanghai, Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe, and Manila deals with manufactured goods, e.g., textiles, electrical equipments, etc.

Air Transport

Air transport is relatively independent of physical barriers such as mountain ranges, though, of course, this depends to a large extent on the size and range of the aircraft employed. Commercial airlines came into being after the First World War, the first regular air-service being between London and Paris in 1919. The earliest countries to operate airline were Britain. France and the U.S.A. where the first planes were developed, but since the Second World War a very large number of airlines have come into operation.

By far the greatest amount of airtraffic is found in the U.S.A. where both international and internal fights are very numerous, freight transport is increasingly important to American airlines.

European airways probably account for about a fifth of the world’s air traffic. London’s Heathrow airport is the busiest in the world. Most of the European countries have their own national airlines, the most important of which include British Airways, KLM (the Dutch Airline) Lufthansa (of Germany). Alitalia, Air France, and SAS (jointly operated by the Scandinavian countries-Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

Communications

All forms of transport are often referred to as lines of communication but in fact there is clear distinction between transport and communications. Transport involves the physical carriage of goods or people from place to place, while communications only involves the transmission of words and messages.

Telecommunications:  The first development in telecommunications was the invention of the telegraph by Samuel Morse in 1844. England and France were linked in 1851 and the first Trans-Atlantic cable was laid in 1866. The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham-Bell in 1875 and made possible direct and instantaneous links from one part of the world to another. Another development was the telex system. The use of telephones, television and radio is thus best developed in the U.S.A. and some European countries but is rapidly increasing in importance in other parts of the world. The U.S.A. and Sweden have over 70 telephones per hundred people.