It is almost universally accepted that the discovery of the wheel was one of the landmark events of the march of civilization. At a strike the speed and comfort of locomotion increased by a quantum leap. The boat was discovered a lot earlier than the laws of floatation, and the whole world had been traversed before the first commercial car rolled out of Ford Motor Company. Each increase in the speed of locomotion or each new invention in locomotion was symptomatic of man's scientific progress. One could tell the sophistication of any society by looking at its means of transportation. It is not surprising, therefore, that the steam engine and the railroads were universally acclaimed as emblematic of modernity and industrialization - in fact the railroad was the official mascot of the Industrial Revolution.

Behind this endless maze of means of transportation lie many causes - varied needs to travel on land, water and air; need to travel faster and on increasingly difficult terrain; the inherent adventurous spirit of man that prompted him to push at the frontiers of impossibility; and a curious mind that stopped at nothing but the laws of physics.

Thanks to the incessant contributions by men across the world and through the centuries, today we are poised to do what was a dream to our forefathers. Today, man has reached the moon and the planets. Today we cross oceans without giving it a second thought. Today, the nuclear powered ships can travel around the world without refueling. Today, perishable products cross the borders in moments so that we can consume them in the evening. For today, transportation has brought the vision of the whole world as a garden into real fruition.