Highlight the relative contributions of roads and railways to national development in any country of your choice

Answer Details

Relative contributions of roads and railways to national development (example: Nigeria)

Contributions of roads

• Flexibility and wide coverage: roads reach nearly every town and village, providing door-to-door movement of people and goods and linking farms to markets.
• Movement of perishable and short-distance goods: roads carry foodstuffs, passengers and light freight quickly over short and medium distances.
• Employment and rural development: road transport supports drivers, mechanics and traders, and opens up remote areas for farming, settlement and trade.
• Feeder function: roads act as feeders that connect railways, ports and airports, integrating the whole transport network.

Contributions of railways

• Bulky and heavy haulage: railways carry heavy, bulky goods such as minerals (coal, tin), petroleum products, cash crops and cement cheaply over long distances.
• Low cost per unit over long distance: rail freight is cheaper for large volumes, aiding industry and export trade.
• Opening up the interior: the lines from Lagos and Port Harcourt to the north opened the interior to commercial agriculture and mining and helped develop towns along the routes.
• Mass movement of people in a safe, relatively reliable manner, reducing pressure on roads.

Comparison/conclusion

Roads are more flexible, more widespread and better for short-distance and perishable traffic, but they are costlier per tonne for bulk goods and prone to congestion and accidents. Railways are cheaper and more efficient for heavy, bulky, long-distance traffic but are fixed in route and limited in coverage. The two are therefore complementary: an efficient national economy needs roads as feeders and for local distribution and railways for bulk long-haul movement, together promoting trade, industry, employment and national integration.