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Transport in the United Kingdom is facilitated with road, air, rail, and water networks. A radial road network totals of main roads, of motorways and of paved roads. The National Rail network of 10,072 route miles (16,116 km) in Great Britain and 189 route miles (303 route km) in Northern Ireland carries over 18,000 passenger and 1,000 freight trains daily. Urban rail networks exist in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast, Leeds and Liverpool. There are many regional and international airports, with Heathrow Airport in London being one of the busiest in the world.〔(Busiest Airports – The Busiest Airports in the World )〕 The UK also has a network of ports which received over 558 million tons of goods in 2003–2004. ==Transport trends== Since 1952 (the earliest date for which comparable figures are available), the United Kingdom has seen a growth of car use, increasing its modal share, while the use of buses has declined, and railway use has grown more slowly.〔 (【引用サイトリンク】 EU Transport in Figures; Statistical Pocketbook ) 〕〔 In 1952 27% of distance travelled was by car or taxi; with 42% being by bus or coach and 18% by rail. A further 11% was by bicycle and 3% by motorcycle. The distance travelled by air was negligible. By 2003 85% of distance travelled was by car or taxi; with 6% being by bus and 6% by rail. Air, pedal cycle and motorcycle accounted for roughly 1% each. In terms of journeys, slightly over 1 billion are made per annum by main line rail, 1 billion by light rail, 4.5 billion by bus, and 21 million on domestic air flights. Passenger transport has grown in recent years. Figures from the DTI show that total passenger travel inside the United Kingdom has risen from 403 billion passenger kilometres in 1970 to 797 billion in 2004.〔http://www.dtistats.net/energystats/ecuk2_2.xls Passenger kilometres by bus, rail, air, motorcycle, pedal cycle, 1970 to 2004, URN No: 06/453, DTI〕 Freight transport has undergone similar changes, increasing in volume and shifting from railways onto the road. In 1953 89 billion tonne kilometres of goods were moved, with rail accounting for 42%, road 36% and water 22%. By 2002 the volume of freight moved had almost trebled to 254 billion tonne kilometres, of which 7.5% was moved by rail, 26% by water, 4% by pipeline and 62% by road. Despite the growth in tonne kilometres, the environmental external costs of trucks and lorries in the UK have reportedly decreased. Between 1990 and 2000, there has been a move to heavier goods vehicles due to major changes in the haulage industry including a shift in sales to larger articulated vehicles. A larger than average fleet turnover has ensured a swift introduction of new and cleaner vehicles in the UK. Although the decline in railway use led to a reduction in the length of the rail network, the length of the road network has not increased in proportion to the increase in road use. Whereas the rail network has halved from in 1950 to today, the major road network only increased from in 1951 to in 1990, and reduced slightly to by 2010. In 2008, the Department for Transport stated that traffic congestion is one of the most serious transport problems facing the United Kingdom.〔 (【引用サイトリンク】 url = http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/roadcongestion/ )〕 According to the government-sponsored Eddington report of 2006, bottleneck roads are in serious danger of becoming so congested that it may damage the economy.〔 (【引用サイトリンク】 url = http://www.dft.gov.uk/press/speechesstatements/speeches/congestion )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Transport in the United Kingdom」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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