The graph below shows the quantities of goods transported in the UK between 1974 and 2002 by four different modes of transport.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
The provided line graph illustrates the amounts of commodities commuted in England by four distinct mediums of transport between 1974 and 2002, a period of 28 years. Over the given years, the quantities of goods moved by road, water and pipeline increased while rail remained constant.
A glance at the graph reveals that the largest ratio of material transported both in 1974 and 2002 was by road (70 million tonnes and 98 million tonnes respectively) while the lowest both in 1974 and 2002 was by pipeline (around 5 million tonnes and 22 million tonnes orderly). The proportion of goods transported by water remained stable from 1974 to 1978, where it showed an exponential growth, rising to almost 60 million tonnes after which it plateaued for about 20 years before starting to rise gradually again.
The quantity of goods locomoted by rail remained almost the same at 40 million tonnes in 1974 and 2002, with decreases in amount in between the years. It is interesting to note that almost all modes showed a decline in 1994 except for the pipelines which actually peaked in that year.
Overall, roadways remained the most popular medium of transiting goods in the UK while water and pipelines became increasingly used.
