World Main Road and Rail Networks

The structure of the global land transport network is a function on the density and intensity of economic activities as well as efforts made to access inland resources. It is important to underline that while the global road and rail networks appear to be integrated and interconnected, this is far from being the case. Road networks are designed to service local and regional flows and only a few corridors are used for long distance trade. Most rail networks are national with limited international services with the exception of Europe and North America. Still, different gauges are serious impediments to the setting of a true pan-European rail network. The North American rail network is integrated but segments of the network are owned by different carriers.