Write a geographical account of rail transport under the following headings:

(a) economic importance;

(b) problems;

(c) solutions.

This question was quite popular with the candidates.  Their performance on the (a) aspect of the question was good generally.  However, quite a good number of the candidates could not mention correctly the problems of rail transportation in part (b), rather they were mentioning problems of transportation generally.  The expected answers on the problems of rail transportation included:

• slow speed in developing countries;
• derailment due to flooding;
• poor time schedule;
• poor standard coaches;
• competition from other modes of transportation e.g. road and air;
• poor management and planning;
• high cost of construction affected by steep gradient/terrain;
• high cost of spare parts, etc.

The solutions to those problems included:

• wider gauges to increase speed;
• faster engines and coaches;
• proper planning and timing of movement schedules;
• improved management techniques;
• loans from banks;
• internal manufacturing of spare parts, etc.