per automobile (occupation ratio around 24%) and that one litre of fuel amounts to about , equating to an average of per passenger-km. This compares to a modern train with an average occupancy of 20% and a consumption of about , equating to per passenger-km, 20 times less than the automobile. Usage Due to these benefits, rail transport is a major form of passenger and freight transport in many countries. It is ubiquitous in Europe, with an integrated network covering virtually the whole continent. In India, China, South Korea and Japan, many millions use trains as regular transport. In North America, freight rail transport is widespread and heavily used, but intercity passenger rail transport is relatively scarce outside the Northeast Corridor, due to increased preference of other modes, particularly automobiles and airplanes. However, implementing new and improved ways such as making it easily accessible within neighborhoods can aid in reducing commuters from using private vehicles and airplanes. South Africa, northern Africa and Argentina have extensive rail networks, but some railways elsewhere in Africa and South America are isolated lines. Australia has a generally sparse network befitting its population density but has some areas with significant networks, especially in the southeast. In addition to the previously existing east–west transcontinental line in Australia, a line from north to south has been constructed. The highest railway in the world is the line to Lhasa, in Tibet, partly running over permafrost territory. Western Europe has the highest railway density in the world and many individual trains there operate through several countries despite technical and organizational differences in each national network. Social and economic impact Modernization Railways are central to the formation of modernity and ideas of progress. The process of modernization in the 19th century involved a transition from a spatially oriented world to a time-oriented world. Exact time was essential, and everyone had to know what the time was, resulting in clocks towers for railway stations, clocks in public places, pocket watches for railway workers and for travelers. Trains left on time (they never left early). By contrast, in the premodern era, passenger ships left when the captain had enough passengers. In the premodern era, local time was set at noon, when the sun was at its highest. Every place east to west had a different time and that changed with the introduction of standard time zones. Printed time tables were a convenience