Transport in Europe

Transport networks in Europe
E-Road Network over 1990 borders
Operational high-speed railway lines
Busiest airports
Navigable rivers and canals

Transport in Europe provides for the movement needs of over 700 million people[1] and associated freight. The political geography of Europe divides the continent into over 50 sovereign states and territories. This fragmentation, along with increased movement of people since the industrial revolution, has led to a high level of cooperation between European countries in developing and maintaining transport networks. Supranational and intergovernmental organisations such as the European Union (EU), Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe have led to the development of international standards and agreements that allow people and freight to cross the borders of Europe, largely with unique levels of freedom and ease.

Road, rail, air and water transportation are all prevalent and important across Europe. Europe was the location of the world's first railways and motorways and is now the location of some of the world's busiest ports and airports. The Schengen Area enables border control-free travel between 26 European countries. Freight transportation has a high level of intermodal compatibility and the European Economic Area allows the free movement of goods across 30 states.

Rail transport

A German ICE 3, a French Thalys and a French-British Eurostar at Brussels South railway station.

Powered rail transport began in England in the early 19th century with the invention of the steam engine. The modern European rail network spans the entire continent and provides passenger and freight movement. There are significant high-speed rail passenger networks such as the TGV in France and the LAV in Spain. The Channel Tunnel connects the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and thus the whole of the European rail system, and was called one of the seven wonders of the modern world by the American Society of Civil Engineers.[2]

Various methods of rail electrification are used, as well as much unelectrified track. Standard gauge is widespread in Central and Western Europe, while Russian gauge predominates in parts of Eastern Europe – mainline services on the Iberian peninsula and the island of Ireland use the rarer Iberian gauge and Irish gauge respectively. The European Rail Traffic Management System is an EU initiative to create a Europe-wide standard for train signalling.

Rail infrastructure, freight transport and passenger services are provided by a combination of local and national governments and private companies. Passenger ticketing varies from country to country and service to service. The Eurail Pass is a rail pass for 18 European countries; it is only available for persons who do not live in Europe, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Inter Rail passes allow multi-journey travel around Europe for people living in Europe and surrounding countries.

Air transport

Aircraft from Polish Airlines, Brussels Airlines, airBaltic and Air Europa at Barcelona Airport.

Despite an extensive road and rail network, 43% of international travel within the EU was by air in 2013.[3] Air travel is particularly important for peripheral nations such as Spain and Greece and island nations such as Malta and Cyprus, where a large majority of border crossings are by air.[3] A large tourism industry also attracts many visitors to Europe, most of whom arrive into one of Europe's many large international airports – major hubs include London Heathrow, Istanbul Atatürk, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Frankfurt and Amsterdam Schiphol. The advent of low cost carriers in recent years has led to a large increase in air travel within Europe. Air transportation is now often the cheapest way of travelling between cities. This increase in air travel has led to problems of airspace overcrowding and environmental concerns. The Single European Sky is one initiative aimed at solving these problems.[4]

Within the European Union, the complete freedoms of the air and the world's most extensive cabotage agreements allow budget airlines to operate freely across the EU.[5] Cheap air travel is spurred on by the trend for regional airports levying low fees to market themselves as serving large cities quite far away. Ryanair is especially noted for this, since it primarily flies out of regional airports up to 150 kilometres away from the cities they are said to serve. A primary example of this is the Weeze-Skavsta flight, where Weeze mainly serves the Nijmegen/Kleve area, while Skavsta serves Nyköping/Oxelösund. Ryanair however, markets this flight as Düsseldorf-Stockholm, which are both 80–90 kilometres away from these airports, resulting in up to four hours of ground transportation just to get to and from the airport.

Sea and river transport

Ships on the Rhine at Cologne.

The Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands is the largest port in Europe and one of the busiest ports in the world, handling some 440 million metric tons of cargo in 2013.[6] When the associated Europoort industrial area is included, Rotterdam is by certain measurements the world's busiest port. Two thirds of all inland water freight shipping within the E.U., and 40% of containers, pass through the Netherlands.[7] Other large ports are the Port of Hamburg in Germany and the Port of Antwerp in Belgium. They are all a part of the so-called "Northern Range".

The English Channel is one of the world's busiest seaways carrying over 400 ships per day[8] between Europe's North Sea and Baltic Sea ports and the rest of the world.

As well as its role in freight movement, sea transport is an important part of Europe's energy supply. Europe is one of the world's major oil tanker discharge destinations. Energy is also supplied to Europe by sea in the form of LNG. The South Hook LNG terminal at Milford Haven, Wales is Europe's largest LNG terminal.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "World Population Prospects: The 2008 Revision". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 11 March 2009. Archived from the original on 12 October 2009. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  2. ↑ Seven wonders of the modern world
  3. 1 2 "Tourism statistics - intra-EU tourism flows". Eurostat. June 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "The Single European Sky". European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation. 13 January 2009. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  5. ↑ Havel, Brian F. (31 March 2014). The Principles and Practice of International Aviation Law. Cambridge University Press. pp. 50–53. ISBN 9781107020528. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "Port Statistics 2013" (PDF) (Press release). Rotterdam Port Authority. 1 June 2014. p. 8. Retrieved 2014-06-28.
  7. ↑ "Seaports - Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency". www.nfia.com. Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency. c. 2010. Retrieved 2014-07-15.
  8. ↑ "The Dover Strait". Maritime and Coastguard Agency. 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2008.
  9. ↑ "Port awaits liquid gas delivery". BBC News. 20 March 2009. Retrieved 20 March 2009.

External links

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