Advantages and Disadvantages of Railway Transport

Advantages of Railway Transport

·           Railways are well suited for carrying heavy and bulky goods over long distances.

·           It can provide long distance travel throughout the day and night with unbroken services.

·           It can provide better production and safety to the goods than motor transport. The goods generally carried in closed wagons are not exposed to sun, rain etc.

·           Though initial investment is large, in the long run the operating expenses will be very low in railways and it will prove a cheaper mode of transport.

·           It requires less time than motor transport for carrying goods over long distance with greater speed

·           It has regular schedule of timing and is available throughout the year.

·           It provides unaffected services whether rainy or shinny weather conditions.

Disadvantages of Railway Transport

·           Railway rates are relatively higher than motor transport for transporting light weight articles over short distance.

·           It is inflexible, as it is operated to a particular track which cannot deviate from the set routes.

·           In rural areas, it cannot offer adequate traffic because of uneconomical operating cost.

·           It requires heavy investment for installation of tracks and maintenance that increases its fare on the users.

·           If railways are not fully utilized and if wagons and coaches are to half empty to its capacity, a heavy financial burden will be cast on the railway.