Transport in Iceland

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An example of an Icelandic Road sign, showing the way to many farms and villages
An example of an Icelandic Road sign, showing the way to many farms and villages

The modes of transport in Iceland are governed by the country’s rugged terrain and unfavourable weather conditions. The principal mode of personal transport is the car. There are no public railways — although there are bus services. Transport from one major town to another, for example Reykjavík to Akureyri, may be by aeroplane on an internal flight. The only way of getting in and out of the country is by air and sea.

Regular air and sea service connects Reykjavík with the other urban centers. In addition, airlines schedule flights from Iceland to Europe and North America. Icelandair, is one of the country's largest employers.

Contents

[edit] Rail

Main article: Rail transport in Iceland

Iceland has no public railways, although proposals to build a passenger line between Keflavík and Reykjavík have been made. Several former locomotive-powered and hand-operated railways have closed and been dismantled, although some evidence of their existence remains in museums and as static exhibits.

[edit] Road

Road across Eyjafjörður in northern Iceland from the western exit of the Öxnadalsheiði pass
Road across Eyjafjörður in northern Iceland from the western exit of the Öxnadalsheiði pass
The Ring Road of Iceland and some towns it passes through: 1.Reykjavík, 2.Borgarnes, 3.Blönduós, 4.Akureyri, 5.Egilsstaðir, 6.Höfn, 7.Selfoss
The Ring Road of Iceland and some towns it passes through: 1.Reykjavík, 2.Borgarnes, 3.Blönduós, 4.Akureyri, 5.Egilsstaðir, 6.Höfn, 7.Selfoss

Iceland has 13,034 km (including tracks in the interior administered by the road authority) of roads, 4,617 km of which are paved and 8,338 km of which are not. Organized road building began about 1900 and has greatly expanded since 1980.

[edit] Sea

The major harbours in Iceland are:

Merchant marine:
total: 3 ships (with a volume of 1,000 gross register tons (GRT) or over) totaling 13,085 GRT/16,938 metric tons of deadweight (DWT)
ships by type: chemical tanker 1, container ship 1, petroleum tanker 1 (1999 est.)

[edit] Air

A Boeing 757-200 of Icelandair, the main airline of Iceland
A Boeing 757-200 of Icelandair, the main airline of Iceland

As of 1999, there are 86 airports in Iceland:

Airport runways in Iceland
Length Paved Unpaved Totals
over 3,047 m 1 0 1
1,524 to 2,437 m 4 3 7
914 to 1,523 m 7 19 26
under 914 m 0 52 52
Total 12 74 86

[edit] Public transport

Main article: Public transport in Iceland

Strætó bs is a company which operates bus services in The Greater Reykjavík area and Strætisvagnar Akureyrar operates bus services in Akureyri.

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

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