!!TRANSPORT!!

A well knit and co-ordinated system of transport including roadways,railways,airways and

waterways is the lifeline of modern India and it’s developing country.

1.ROADWAYS:
India has one of the largest networks in the world.65% of freight and 80% of traffic is carried
by roads.

Advantages of roads over railways:-

i.Roads are the cheapest means of communication between rural and urban areas.

ii.They can be constructed in remote,inaccessible areas having difficult terrain,high altitude

and steep slopes.

iii.They provide door to door service and are therefore convenient.

iv.They are safest for the transport of perishable goods like fruit,milk and vegetables.

Types of roads:-

i.Metalled roads-made up of cements and concrete which are all called pucca roads.

ii.Unmetalled roads:-also known as kutcha roads and used in the dry seasons in contrast to
metalled roads.

Road Network:-

i.Express Highways-constitutes multiplans,well paved highways.

Ex.-Mumbai-Kolkata DumDum airport Highways,Durgapur-Kolkata express Highway,Mumbai

–Pune express Highway,Noida-Greater Noida express Highway,Delhi-Gurgaon express
Highway.
ii.National Highways-long metalled road linking far away and maintained by Central Public
Work Department(CPWD).Ex.-Varanasi-Kanyakumari Highway is one of the longest National
Highway.

iii.Border Road Organisation(BRO)-Developed roads of strategic importance in Border areas.

Ex.-Zojila-Kargil-Manali-Leh,Pathankot-Jammu-Srinagar are a part of National

Highway.Development project undertaken by the government.

iv.Golden Quadrilateral-It is the largest express highway project implemented by National

Highway Authority of India(NHAI) which aims at to reduce time and distance between mega
cities of India.

*Phase I-This phase comprises by connecting Delhi,Mumbai,Kolkata and Chennai by six

lane highway.It has atotal length of approximately 5846km.

*Phase II-(a)connecting Srinagar to Kanyakumari in north-south corridors.

(b)connecting Silchar in Assam to Porbandar in Gujarat in east-west corridors.

*Phase III-Involve widening of existing highways:

(a)State highways:It’s maintained by PWD and links state capitals with different
district headquarters,important towns and tourist centers.

(b)District highways:It’s maintained and constructed by PWD and zila-parishad

and links towns and large villages with one another and also to the district headquarters.

(c)Rural village roads:It is maintained and constructed by Gram Panchayat.These

roads get special significance under “Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna.”

Problems of roads transport:-

*Village roads are unmetalled are poorly maintained.

*Water logging is a common problem during rainy season.

*Traffic jams due to lack of strict traffic rules and regulations.

*Lack of roadside amenities along the long distant roads.

*Shortage of funds and unstable government policy for construction,maintainance and repair
of roads.

2.RAILWAYS:
The first railway system was started in India in 1853 between Mumbai and Thane .Originally ,
was operated by British company and then taken over by Central Government in 1950.
Today,the railway network is divided into 16 zones that are managed by railway boards.

Importance of Railways:-

i.The cheapest mode of transport for both freight and passengers.

ii.The cheapest mode of transport for bulky goods over long distance.

iii.Connects the hinterland to sea ports.

iv.Promote economic development,urbanization and integration within states.

v.Helps agricultural and industrial development.

vi.Helps in the administration of the country besides safeguarding to sovereignty and

integrity.

vii.Provides employment to lakhs of people within the country.

viii.Unite people from one corner of the country to another.

Types of Railway Gauges (Width between railway track):-

i.Broad Gauge(1.676m)- railway account for 50% of the total route,length,linking all major
cities to ports.
ii.Meter Gauge(1m)-railways are mainly used in Northern Uttar Pradesh,Bihar,Assam,parts of
Rajasthan,Gujarat,Maharashtra,Karnataka,Tamil Nadu.

iii.Narrow Gauge(0.762m)-railways link cities in mountaineous areas,Kalka-Shimla,Siliguri-

Darjeeling.

Improvements made in Indian Railways:-

i.Steam Engines replaced by diesel engines in 1950,manufactured at Diesel Locomotives

Works(DLW),Varanasi(U.P.),Chittaranjan Locomotive Work in West Bengal and Jharkhand.

ii.Electrification of all railways to enable greater speed and volume of traffic and superfast
trains between large cities.

iii.Today most railway gauges have been converted to broad gauges.

iv.Introduction of electrical sub-urban trains in metro cities.

v.Computerization in the field of ticketing has brought relief to the people.

Factors affecting the distribution pattern of the railway network:-

i.Terrain and Topography.

ii.Density of population.

iii.Minerals,fertility of land and arid and semi-arid climatic conditions.

Problems of Indian Railways:-

*Cannot compete with roads for the delivery of goods and people right to the doorstep.

*Increased industrialization,urbanization and population have led to heavy pressure of traffic.

*Unsafe due to poor maintainance and inefficient due to increasing corruption and changing
and delayed government policies.
*Obsolate machinery,tracks and equipments are the major cause of accidents which affects
machinery in the long arm.

*Unskilled and untrained railway employees add to the inefficient working of the railways.

*Lack of passenger facilities and security arrangement.

3.AIRWAYS:
Role of AAI(Airport Authority of India)1995:-

To accelerate the integrated development,expansion and modernization of the operational ,

terminal and cargo facilities at the airports in the country to International standard.
Functions of DGCA(Directorate General of Civil Aviation):-
i.Planning ,expansion and implementation of schemes for an orderly growth of civil air
transport.

ii.Safeguarding civil aviation operation,regulation of air transport series and providing airport
facilities to passengers.

Importance of Airports:-

i.Air transport is indispensable in the field of business,defence and relief operations as it is

the fastest mode.

ii.It is significant in hilly areas(North-East India),inaccessible and border areas.

iii.Though expensive as compared to road and rail transport ,the entry of private air lines with
attractive schemes have reduced fares drastically…

Classification of Airports:-

Development can be under both public and private sector.

Ex. of Airport under private sector:-International Green field Airport in Cochin, Kerala is
developed by NRT and loans from financial institution.

Ex. of Airport under public sector:-Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi,Dumdum

Airport at Kolkata.

Types of Airports:-

i.International Airports:-managed by Air India in Mumbai ,Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and

Thiruvananthapuram. Their operations are guided by bi-lateral agreements signed from time
to time.

ii.Domestic Airports:-managed by Indian Airlines at Bengaluru ,Hyderabad , Ahmedabad ,Goa,

Varanasi, Patna ,Agra, Jaipur ,Amritsar ,Tiruchirapalli ,Luknow and Bhubaneshwar are custom
Airports with limited international operations by national and foreign tourists and cargo
charter flights. Some leading domestic, private airlines are Air Sahara, Air Deccan and Jet
airways.

Problems of Air Transports:-

*Foreign airlines provide efficient and better services.

*Regular strikes damage their reputation.

*Unaffordable for common man due to exorbitant fares.

*Old aircraft (more than 2 years),obsolete machinery and poor machinery maintainance
reflect on the miss-management and inefficiency of the authorities and the government.

4.WATERWAYS:
**The CWTC(Central Water Transport Corporation) has its headquarters in Kolkata.The CWTC
is mainly engaged with transportation of goods through the Ganga ,Hoogly ,Brahmaputra and
Sundarbans.
**The IWAI(Inland Water Authority of India) has its headquarters in Noida.The IWAI regulates
the development of inland waterways for shipping and navigation.

Inland Water Transport:-

The great river systems, the Ganga and Brahmaputra and their tributaries carry the largest
part of river traffic amongst the natural modes. Artificial modes like canal systems also serve
as inland waterways especially when they link rivers.

National Waterways of India:-

i.NW1:River Ganga between Allahbad and Haldia.

ii.NW2:Sadiya-Dhubri stretch of Brahmaputra river.

iii.NW3:Kollam-Kottapuram stretch of West coast canal.

iv.The Buckingham canal in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu is used for navigation.

v.The Mandovi and Zuari rivers in Goa are also used as waterways.

vi.In Kerala,the backwaters serve as a means of navigation used mainly for transporting goods
like spices,coconut,raw rubber,pepper and cashewnuts.

vii.In Peninsular India,Krishna and Godavari are the chief means of transport and offer cheap
access to markets.

Importance of Inland Waterways:-

i.Expansion of roads and railways.

ii.Diversion of river’s water for irrigation.

iii.Seasonal variation in the volume of water in rivers due to the occurance of seasonal rainfall

iv.Water transport is slow as compared to roads and railways.

Major Ports and Shipping:-

Ports play a crucial role in the economic development and international trade of India. 12
major seaports are under the jurisdiction of the Central Government and 1 st river ports are
managed by state government.

Vishakhapatnam handles the maximum traffic.Other major ports r Kolkata-Haldia,Paradeep,

Chennai ,Cochin ,Mumbai ,Goa ,New Mangalore, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust(JPT) etc.

Coast Shipping:-

India has the largest merchant shipping fleets.There are 28 shipyards under central and state
public sector and 18 in private sector.

*Advantages*

i.Fuel saving and environmental friendly in transporting goods from one port to another.

ii.It is energy efficient.

iii.Fisheries are dependent on coastal and shipping.

iv.Reduces the burden on rail and road.

v.Provides employment to thousand of people.

vi.Its capital investment is much less as compared to another means of transport.

vii.Promotes Tourism.

Problems of Indian Airways:-

i.Indian ports are not well connected to the hinterland.

ii.There is heavy pressure on cargo container. 52% of the goods is due for replacement.

ii.Traffic is not equally available on both direction.

iv.Undue port delays reflect heavy losses on shipping companion.

------------😊Success is a journey. The best form of transport is Happiness😊---------------