Question

i)- It is difficult to build roads and railways in South America. Give any two reasons why

the statement is true.​

Answer 1

Answer:

1. In most South American countries railways have lost their dominant position as the major mode of transportation and have been replaced by the road networks that have developed rapidly since the 1960s. Moreover, rail transport is plagued by operational problems as well as by obsolete equipment. Almost all lines are single-tracked, which makes traffic slow and discourages passenger service. Many countries have two or more track gauges, which impedes the efficient integration of the rail system.

2. Until the 1980s, virtually all railways were owned by the state. Since then, governments, as part of their overall efforts to privatize their national economies, have divested themselves of a large percentage of publicly owned railroads. This has led to the elimination of a huge number of passenger routes as well as the reduction of much of the freight component.