system characteristics of transport modes

recent years have brought a great deal of expansion to the economic systems of developing countries. although they serve as vital link of economic activities, the transportation network of these countries have not grown proportionally. since transportation investments is a a substantial portion of the national budget, a good knowledge of each mode's various characteristics is essential, when planning for various combination of transport modes. this paper discusses the three transport modes which are most important in developing countries: highway, railway, and pipeline. the relative costs of construction, maintenance, administration, operation, etc. are estimated for the three modes. type and frequency of traffic are also compared for different type of highways. an addition to such quantifiable characteristics, the highway, railway, and pipeline have also been evaluated with respect to flexibility, carrying capacity of both load and passengers, as well as other relevant environmental considerations.