A
barge is a flat-bottomed
boat, built mainly for
river and
canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed or pushed by
towboats. Canal barges, towed by draft animals on an adjacent
towpath, contended with the
railway in the early
industrial revolution, but
were outcompeted in the carriage of high-value items due to the higher speed, falling costs, and route flexibility of
rail.