Governments should spend money on railways rather than roads.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Sample
Answer
1:
Fast and safe transportation system and improved communication are two important
aspects of the development of a country. Every government wants its citizens to
commute safely and faster while the trade and business also depend on a solid
transportation system. Thus when the question arises whether a government should
focus on improving its railways or roads, people seems like have divided opinions. I
personally agree that a government should spend more money on railways system as
it is better to develop the railway transpiration system than developing roads.
Fast of all railways offers safe commuting both for the citizens and traders. The
numbers of road accidents and casualties road vehicles cause in many countries are
far more than that of accidents in the railway system. Thus investing more on a safe
way of commuting is a much more prudent idea. Rails cause comparatively less
environmental damage while the road vehicles are the main reason for increasing
pollution around the world.
Second, rails can carry hundreds of people and several tonnes of goods while road
transports can carry only a few people or fewer amounts of products at a time. Some
shuttle trains are many times faster than that of private cars and public buses. Thus
improved railways would save peoples valuable time every day. Thirdly, rail lines are
usually away from the main cities and that is why some busy cities have no other
alternatives than to improve their rail transportation system. Express trains can reduce
the congestions in many cities and more investment to improve the railways is the
only possible solutions in cities where a large number of people live in.
Finally, the population of the world is increasing rapidly and that is why investing
more money on faster and safer transportation system is more logical than investing in
the older transportation system. Railways will be future in transportation and
investing on it is the better choice for any government.
In conclusion, I believe that a government, either in a developed or a developing
country, should invest to build a safer, faster and more reliable transportation system
and railways thus should always get a priority over the roads.
Sample
Answer
2:
Some people believe that governments should build more railroads rather than
highways and roads. To a certain point, I would agree with the statement, but I also
believe that the decision of building railways or roads should be decided base on the
natural condition of the area and the preference of citizens.
On the one hand, it is understandable if some people think that governments should
expand more railroads rather than roads and streets. Firstly, it is obvious that when a
country has extensive rail networks, it will positively affect the logistic cost. The
selling price of many products would be cheaper since a single locomotive could
carry tonnes of crops, goods or liquid products. Secondly, by building integrated
subway stations in city centre areas, it will reduce traffic congestion. For example, as
Singapore has a very good train network called MRT, most of the people rarely drive

on their own vehicle. As a result, Singapore is free from traffic congestion and air
pollution.
On the other hand, it is also important for governments to have some feasibility study
regarding to the geological area before they disburse some money on railroads. It is a
fact that some areas might not be feasible for railways, as those areas might be
swamps or rocky mountain. Should the government enforced themselves in building
railway networks there the investment cost might be unreasonable. For instance, the
island of Borneo in Indonesia, is the one of the largest islands in the world, but most
of the areas are swamps. It is not feasible for railroads but as the island have wide and
long rivers such as the Mahakam and Kapuas, the government could focus more on
building water transportation. The preference of citizens should also be considered
before investing on construction on railroads or highways.
In conclusion, to a certain extent, I would agree that governments should build more
railroads rather than roads and highways. But I do believe that governments should
also make considerable measurement before they spend their money on railways.
They must ensure that their areas are feasible and people prefer that transportation
system.
Sample Answer 3:
It becomes a controversial topic these days about the effective method of transport
systems. The government in many countries does a lot of research in searching which
transport systems that should be subsidized heavily. Consequently, some assert that
investing on railways is the best way to spend money on rather than prioritizing in
roads. Personally, I completely agree with this policy for a couple of reasons.
To begin with, establishing new railways has a significant improvement in traffic
problems. With the availability and efficiency of trains, it gravitates the high number
of passengers, decreasing private car users, and reducing the congested traffic finally.
Unlike building more roads, this policy will increase the car drivers instead.
Secondly, in term of environment concerns, the railways development definitely ease
the air pollution in cities as well. Transportation is mainly responsible for global
warming because of the high amount of toxic gases released from cars. As a result,
introducing new eco-friendly engines such as sky-trains or subways will significantly
reduce the amount of carbon emission to the atmosphere and tackle the global
warming issue eventually.
Lastly, considering the land issue, building more roads requires a dramatic land. The
deforestation and land degradation are negative consequences of this change.
Although the construction of railroads requires some space, leading to deforestation as
well, the need is still lesser than the space for the road construction.
In conclusion, there are several positive points of developing railroads as it promotes
the use of public transport systems and of cause it is an environmentally friendly
scheme. In contrast, the road extension leads to land destruction and creates more air
pollution. Therefore, the government totally needs to spend the revenue on increasing
railroads rather than roads.