Перевести текст. inland waterway transport 1. inland waterway transport plays an important role for the transport of goods in europe. more than 35.000 kilometers of waterways connect hundreds of cities and industrial regions. while 18 out of 25 member states have inland waterways, 10 of which have an interconnected waterway network, the modal share of river transport accounts for 7% of the total inland transport in the european union. 2. in 2003, 125 billion ton-kilometers of freight were transported by inland waterways in the union. fluvial transport plays a vital role in transport through the european north-west. in the hinterland of the largest seaports of the eu, the modal share of inland waterway transport can reach up to 43%. compared to other modes which are often confronted with congestion and capacity problems, inland waterway transport is characterized by its reliability and has a major unexploited capacity. during the past 15 years, the fleet has been modernized continuously. 3. inland waterway transport has major assets. it is particularly effective and energy-efficient; its energy consumption per ton-kilometer of transported goods corresponds to 1/6 of the consumption on the road and to half of that of rail transport. its noise and gaseous emissions are modest. according to recent studies, the total external costs of inland navigation (in terms of accidents, congestion, noise emissions, air pollution and other environmental impacts) are 7 times lower in than those of road transport. inland waterway transport ensures a high degree of safety, in particular when it comes to the transport of dangerous goods. finally it contributes to the decongestion of the overloaded road network in densely populated regions.
