Road and rail are two modes of transport used to move goods overland and across continents. So, what are the main differences between them, we will consider today.
Road transport
Road transport is the most commonly used mode of transport for moving goods. Many everyday goods, such as food, flowers, fruits, and dry goods, travel across countries and continents using road transport. As the saying goes: "If you got it, then it brought a truck!" Road transport is widely used for distribution and delivery of retail and other types of goods from and to various CPUs (Distribution Center).
Railway transport
Rail transport is a widely used mode of transport, especially in countries and continents with long transit times, such as China, Russia, the USA and some parts of Europe. Freight trains are capable of transporting various types of cargo, such as freight containers, vehicles, livestock, goods such as grain, coal, minerals and metals, etc.
Auto
| Over | Against |
|---|---|
| The goods can be delivered quickly according to the established schedule | Restrictions, such as cargo size and weight, may apply to road weight |
| Cost-effective, especially over short distances | It may not be a cost-effective option over longer distances |
| Used for long, near, local and transboundary movements | Slower than long distance train |
| Complete door-to-door movement | Weather and road restrictions |
| A simpler option for tracking cargo movement via GPS and satellite tracking | Not as green as the train |
Train
| Over | Against |
|---|---|
| A greener option for transport, as trains burn less fuel per tonne km than road vehicles | Possible delays at border crossings due to change of train operators |
| Freight trains carry more cargo than road transport | Not cost effective over shorter distances |
| On average, transporting goods over long distances is cheaper and faster by rail | Non-standard goods cannot be transported in ordinary railway cars |
| Freight trains were even more sensitive to transit than maritime transport delivering goods from China to Europe in less than 18 days compared to 44 days by sea |
Despite these pros and cons, these two modes of transport can be combined together to offer the client an intermodal (or multimodal) mode of transport, where both of these modes are combined to provide combined road / rail transport to offer the client door-to-door transport option.
