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Transport in Belgium is facilitated with well-developed road, air, rail and water networks. The rail network has 2,950 km (1,830 mi) of electrified tracks. There are 118,414 km (73,579 mi) of roads, among which there are 1,747 km (1,086 mi) of motorways, 13,892 km (8,632 mi) of main roads and 102,775 km (63,861 mi) of other paved roads. There is also a well-developed urban rail network in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent and Charleroi. The ports of Antwerp and Bruges-Zeebrugge are two of the biggest seaports in Europe. Brussels Airport is Belgium's biggest airport.
Gibraltar has a limited public transport system, due to the compact size of the territory.
Hong Kong has a highly developed transport network, encompassing both public and private transport. Based on Hong Kong Government's Travel Characteristics Survey, over 90% of daily journeys are on public transport, the highest rate in the world. However, in 2014 the Transport Advisory Committee, which advises the Government on transportation issues, issued a report on the much-worsened congestion problem in Hong Kong and pointed at the excessive growth of private cars during the past 10–15 years.
Transport in Macau includes road, sea, rail and air transport. Road transport is the primary mode of transport within Macau, although a new rail system opened in December 2019 serving the areas of Taipa and Cotai. The main forms of public transport are buses and taxis.
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs has been considered as the fiscal subject that charges customs duties and other taxes on import and export. In recent decades, the views on the functions of customs have considerably expanded and now covers three basic issues: taxation, security, and trade facilitation.
Border control comprises measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it also encompasses controls imposed on internal borders within a single state.
A border checkpoint is a location on an international border where travelers or goods are inspected and allowed passage through. Authorization often is required to enter a country through its borders. Access-controlled borders often have a limited number of checkpoints where they can be crossed without legal sanctions. Arrangements or treaties may be formed to allow or mandate less restrained crossings. Land border checkpoints can be contrasted with the customs and immigration facilities at seaports, international airports, and other ports of entry.
Rosslare Europort is a modern seaport located at Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland, near the southeasternmost point of the island of Ireland. The port is the primary Irish port serving the European Continent with 36 direct services to the Continent weekly. It handles passenger and freight ferries to and from Cherbourg, Dunkirk, St Malo and Roscoff, in France, Bilbao in Spain and Fishguard and Pembroke Dock in the United Kingdom. Since July 2022, a new freight route between Rosslare and Zeebrugge, Belgium was introduced by Finnlines for a twice weekly ro-ro service between the two ports.
United States border preclearance is the United States Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) practice of operating prescreening border control facilities at airports and other ports of departure located outside of the United States pursuant to agreements between the United States and host countries. Travelers are subject to immigration and customs inspections by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers before boarding their transportation onward to the United States. Preclearance applies to all passengers regardless of their nationality or purpose of travel. Upon arrival, precleared passengers arrive in the United States as domestic travelers, but may still be subject to re-inspection at the discretion of CBP. This process is intended to streamline border procedures, reduce congestion at American ports of entry, and facilitate travel into airports that otherwise lack immigration and customs processing facilities for commercial flights.
Transport in Wales is heavily influenced by the country's geography. Wales is predominantly hilly or mountainous, and the main settlements lie on the coasts of north and south Wales, while mid Wales and west Wales are lightly populated. The main transport corridors are east–west routes, many continuing eastwards into England.
Transport in Scotland is facilitated by road, rail, air and water networks. The Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament has control over most elements of transport policy within Scotland, with the Cabinet Secretary for Transport holding portfolio responsibility within the Scottish Government. Transport Scotland is the Executive Agency responsible for the Scottish transport network.
The UK Border Agency (UKBA) was the border control agency of the Government of the United Kingdom and part of the Home Office that was superseded by UK Visas and Immigration, Border Force and Immigration Enforcement in April 2013. It was formed as an executive agency on 1 April 2008 by a merger of the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA), UKvisas and the detection functions of HM Revenue and Customs. The decision to create a single border control organisation was taken following a Cabinet Office report.
Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre (HWDC) is a sorting office for inbound and outbound international mail operated by Royal Mail. Located close to Heathrow Airport, the HWDC is situated in the town of Langley, Berkshire, near Slough, and began operations in 2003. The centre is often referred to by its abbreviation, Langley HWDC, or as 'GBLALA' in mail tracking information.
In the United States, border security includes the protection of ports, airports, and the country's 3,017-mile (4,855 km) land border with Canada and 1,933-mile (3,111 km) border with Mexico.
Border Force (BF) is a British law enforcement command within the Home Office, responsible for frontline border control operations at air, sea and rail ports in the United Kingdom. The force was part of the now defunct UK Border Agency from its establishment in 2008 until Home Secretary Theresa May demerged it in March 2012 after severe criticism of the senior management.
e-Borders was an advance passenger information programme which aimed to collect and store information on passengers and crew entering and leaving the United Kingdom. Passengers details were to be checked against terror and criminal watch lists before being stored on the e-borders database. Due to European law on free movement EU carriers and ports supply information to the UK Border Agency on a voluntary basis; however in March 2012 Damian Green said that by April e-Borders would be collecting information on all passengers on 100% of non-EEA flights to the UK. The information of the passengers and crew was to be collected by the airline, train operating company, ferry and other carriers and ports and is then passed on to the e-Borders programme via the Carrier Gateway provided by Serco. In 2014 it was announced that the system would be scrapped.
Juxtaposed controls are a reciprocal arrangement between Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom whereby border controls on certain cross-Channel routes take place before boarding the train or ferry, rather than upon arrival after disembarkation. With the exception of the Eurotunnel Shuttle route, customs checks remain unaffected by juxtaposed immigration controls and continue to take place upon arrival after disembarkation. Belgium, France and the Netherlands are all member states of the European Union and part of the border-free Schengen Area. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, has never participated in the Schengen Area, even when it was a member state of the European Union. As a result, juxtaposed controls aim to increase the convenience and efficiency of border checks when travelling by train or ferry between the Schengen Area and the UK by removing the need for immigration checks on arrival and by streamlining checks on departure. At the same time, juxtaposed controls are intended to detect and prevent illegal immigration. In 2016, there were over 56,000 instances when people were refused entry to the UK at the juxtaposed controls.
ePassport gates are automated self-service barriers operated by the UK Border Force and located at immigration checkpoints in arrival halls in some airports across the UK and at the juxtaposed controls in international railway terminals abroad, offering an alternative to using desks staffed by immigration officers. The gates use facial recognition technology to verify the traveller's identity against the data stored in the chip in their biometric passport, as well as run the data against numerous databases to determine if the traveller is a security risk.
Visa requirements for crew members are administrative entry restrictions imposed by countries on members of a ship or aircraft crew during transit.
Connect is a new social network analysis software data mining computer system developed by HMRC (UK) that cross-references business's and people's tax records with other databases to establish fraudulent or undisclosed (misdirected) activity.
References
- ↑ "Border surveillance plan unveiled". 29 September 2004. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
- ↑ Report
- ↑ "E-borders snares 2,800 criminals at the border". GOV.UK. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
- ↑ "- Port of Dover". www.doverport.co.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2018.