The modes of transport in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

are governed by the country's rugged

terrain Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin w ...

and sparse population. The principal mode of personal transport is the

car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

. There are no public

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

, although there are

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

services. Transport from one major town to another, for example

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a pop ...

Akureyri Akureyri (, locally ) is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's fifth-largest municipality, after Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær and Kópavogur, and the largest town outside Iceland's more populated southwest corner. Nickname ...

, may be by

aeroplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spec ...

on a

domestic flight A domestic flight is a form of commercial flight within civil aviation where the departure and the arrival take place in the same country. Airports serving domestic flights only are known as domestic airports. Domestic flights are generally ...

. The only ways of getting in and out of the country are by air and sea. Most of the country's

transport infrastructure Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...

is concentrated near the Capital Region, which is home to 64% of the country's population.

Rail

Iceland has no public railways, although proposals to build a passenger line between Keflavík and

have been made as well as proposals to build a light rail system in Reykjavík. In the past, locomotive-powered and hand-operated rails have been temporarily set up during certain construction projects, and have long since been dismantled. Some artifacts from their existence remains in museums and as static exhibits.

Road

Iceland has of publicly administered roads, of which are paved. Organized road building began about 1900 and has greatly expanded since 1980. Vegagerðin (Icelandic Roads Administration) is the legal owner and constructor of the roads, and oversees and maintains them as well. 11.4% of passenger-kilometres are by bus and 88.6% by car.

Sea

The major

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

s in Iceland are: *

* Hornafjördur * Ísafjörður * Keflavík * Raufarhöfn *

* Seyðisfjörður * Straumsvík *

Vestmannaeyjar Vestmannaeyjar (, sometimes anglicized as Westman Islands) is a municipality and archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. The largest island, Heimaey, has a population of 4,414, most of whom live in the archipelago's main town, Vestmannaeyj ...

Merchant marine:
''total:'' 3 ships (with a tonnage of 1,000gt or over) totaling 13,085gt/
''ships by type:''

chemical tanker A chemical tanker is a type of tanker ship designed to transport chemicals in bulk. As defined in MARPOL Annex II, chemical tanker means a ship constructed or adapted for carrying in bulk any liquid product listed in chapter 17 of the Internat ...

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermoda ...

petroleum tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined c ...

1 (1999 est.) Transport ferries: The only habitable islands around Iceland are supplied and infrastructurally connected with the mainland via

ferries A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

which run regularly. Those islands are: *

The largest and most populated island. * Hrísey In the middle of

Eyjafjörður Eyjafjörður (, ''Island Fjord'') is one of the longest fjords in Iceland. It is located in the central north of the country. Situated by the fjord is the country's fourth most populous municipality, Akureyri. Physical geography The fjord is ...

in northern Iceland. * Grímsey An island in the far-north, the northernmost part of Iceland. Those

are considered part of the infrastructure system such as roads, and are therefore run by Vegagerðin like the roads.

Air

As of 2010, there are 99

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

s in Iceland:

Public transport

Public transport systems in Iceland are relatively underdeveloped and many areas are poorly served by

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typic ...

. Limited services are provided in major urban areas, for example Strætó bs operates bus services in

, and Strætisvagnar Akureyrar in the northern town of

. There are nationwide

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and bus services linking the major towns, although many

Icelanders Icelanders ( is, Íslendingar) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nation who are native to the island country of Iceland and speak Icelandic. Icelanders established the country of Iceland in mid 930 AD when the Althing (Parliament) met fo ...

use

s to get from one major town to another including, Reykjavík, Keflavík and Grímsey. Automobile ownership is also relatively high—the country has one of the highest rates in the world—with 580 cars per 1000 people (as of 2000), a figure similar to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Unusually, this does not cause as much

traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic d ...

as one might imagine, as the urban area of Reykjavík is relatively spread out in comparison to its population. Therefore demand for public transport services is low and has not developed as much as it has in countries with similar levels of economic development. In recent years, however, there have been proposals to construct a railway service between

Keflavík Airport Keflavík (pronounced , meaning ''Driftwood Bay'') is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. It is included in the municipality of Reykjanesbær whose population as of 2016 is 15,129. In 1995, Keflavik merged with nearby Njar ...

and

. The airport in Keflavík is Iceland’s main international airport; however, it is not situated close to the capital. It is currently served by a coach service, but Reykjavik City Council has agreed to conduct a

feasibility study A feasibility study is an assessment of the practicality of a project or system. A feasibility study aims to objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of an existing business or proposed venture, opportunities and threats pr ...

on the railway proposal, saying they are prepared to contribute 10 million krónur of funding. A light rail network within the capital has also been proposed. The country is served by some sea services. For example,

are available from the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic archipelago, island group and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotlan ...

and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

notable operators include Smyril Line amongst others. Ferry services also operate between Þorlákshöfn and the Westman Islands, operated by Eimskip.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transport In Iceland

Rail

Road

Sea

Air

Public transport

See also

References