Abstract
The analysis tests the utility of a simple regression approach in "post-dictively" explaining transport development in West Malaysia from 1887 to 1968. The growth of the network is modelled as a process of contagious diffusion where transport densities of adjacent cells are used as predicator variables on a lagged basis. The partial regression coefficients provide measures of network orientation over time. Results demonstrate the importance of the contagion process in transport forecasting.