Faster steam trains replaced horse-drawn and canal transport.
1802: invented
1830s public railways (Liverpool and Manchester))
The electric telegraph was the first long-distance instant communication technology (1830s). The Trans-Atlantic telegraph cable in the 1860's replaced a 3 week boat journey with instant Morse Code messages.
Steam ships replaced sailing ships and increased speed and cargo capacity dramatically (1840s)
Jett Aircraft (20th Century)
The Boeing 747 'jumbo jet' introduced in the 1960s lowered the cost of international air travel, bring international tourism within the purchasing capabilities of the middle class.They reduced travel time for passengers to hours, rather than days, replacing steam ships.
Containerisation (20th Century)
Reduced transport costs.
Dramatically sped up goods trade and reduced costs, making consumer goods cheaper.
Most goods are transported like this.
Quickly transferable from a ship to a lorry or railway.
Process is easily mechanised; containers are unloaded by crane, increasingly automatically.
Reduced labour costs.
Fewer losses from theft.
Shipping cost reduced as fewer days are wasted queuing at a port waiting to unload.
Time-space compression - David Harvey (Shrinking World)
The way that the world is seemingly getting smaller, or compressing, as a result of increased transport, communications, and capitalist processes.
Time-space convergence (Shrinking World)
The decline in travel time between geographical locations.
