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 diagrams compare the quantities of the goods that were transported using four different means of transportation in the United Kingdom from 1974 to 2002.

Overall

, it can be seen that figure for roads ranked first throughout the surveys, whilst that for the pipeline stood

last

. Another prominent point is that all modes experienced rises, except for the railway which mainly showed fluctuations. The figure for transporting goods via road

initially

stood at 70 million tonnes and gradually rose until 1992 when it reached 80, after which there was a small decline that it dropped to a high of just below 80.

However

, after a sudden surge in 1999, it continued to rise steadily for another three years to reach a high of approximately 100 in 2002. The figures for railway and cargo ships remained stable at a similar level of 40 million tonnes during 1974 and 1977, after which the latter experienced a dramatic rise over three years to reach about 60 before it levelled off until 1992, slightly dropping to 50 in 1998 and it had a significant rise again to reach a high of just over 60 in 2002.

In contrast

, the former can be observed with high fluctuations over the rest of the period, returning to its original level at 40 in 2002. Goods transported via pipeline gradually rose in the quantity from 5 in 1974 to a level of just over 20 in 1995, before it levelled off, raking

last

throughout the period.