TRANSPORTATION

Transport is a system in which passengers and goods are carried from one place to another. Transport system is considered as the lifeline of a country. Earlier man travelled on foot or used animals for transport. With the discovery of wheel, transport was made easier and gradually different means of transport were developed. There are three major means of transport in the world.

Roadways

Roads play an important role in carrying goods and passengers for short, medium and long distances. It is highly suitable for short distance services. It is comparatively easy and cheap to construct and maintain roads. Road transport system can establish easy contact between farms, fields, factories and markets and can provide door to door transport services. Roads are the most universal mode of transport. Indian roads are cost efficient. It is used by all sections of people in the society.

For the purpose of construction and maintenance, roads are classified into National Highways (NH), State Highways (SH), District Roads, Rural Roads (Village roads), Border Roads and International Highways.

Classification of Roads in India

National Highways (NH)

National Highways form the most important system of road Transportation in India. These highways are running through length and breadth of the country connecting capitals of states, major Ports, rail junctions, industrial and tourist centres. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of India, is responsible for the development and maintenance of National Highways in India. The longest National highway is NH-44 which runs from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu covering a distance of 2369 km. The shortest national highway is NH-47A, which runs from Ernakulum to Kochi port (Willington Island) covering a distance of 6km.

State Highways

The state highways are usually roads that link important cities, towns and district headquarters within the state and connect them with national highways or highways of neighbouring states. These roads are administered and financed by state governments.

District Roads

District Roads provide connectivity between the district and taluk headquarters with the state highways and national highways. District Roads are constructed and maintained by the Public Works Department of the states.

Rural Roads (Village Roads)

These roads are vital for providing links in the rural areas. It links the different villages with their neighbouring towns. They are maintained by Village Panchayats.

Border Roads

These are the roads of strategic importance in border areas. They are constructed and maintained by Border Roads Organization. It was established in 1960 for the development of the roads of strategic importance in the northern and northeastern border areas. Border Roads Organization has constructed world’s highest road joining Chandigarh and Leh in Ladakh. This road runs at an average altitude of 4,270 meters.

Golden Quadrilateral

Golden Quadrilateral 5,846 km long road of 4/6 lanes connects, India’s four metropolitan cities: Delhi-Kolkata-Chennai-Mumbai-Delhi. This project was launched in 1999.

North-South and East-West Corridors

North – South corridor aims at connecting Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir with Kaniyakumari in Tamil Nadu (including Kochi – Salem Spur) with 4,076km long road. The East – West corridor has been planned to connect Silchar in Assam with the port town of Porbandar in Gujarat with 3,640km of road length. The two corridors intersect at Jhansi.

Expressways

These are multi – lane good quality highways for high speed traffic. Some of the important expressways are;

☆ Mumbai – Pune Road

☆ Kolkata – Dumdum Airport road

☆ Durgapur – Kolkata road

☆ Yamuna expressway between Delhi and Agra.

International Highways

These are the roads that link India with neighbouring countries for promoting harmonious relationship with them. These highways have been constructed with an aid from world bank under an agreement with the Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (ESCAP). These roads connect important highways of India with those of the neighbouring countries such as Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Railways

Indian railway system is the main artery of the country’s inland transport. Railways cater to the needs of large scale movement of traffic, both for freight and passenger, thereby contributing to economic growth. Railways are considered as the backbone of the surface transport system of India. It promotes national integration by bringing people together. It also promotes trade, tourism, education etc. Railways help in the commercialization of the agriculture sector by facilitating the bulky movement of perishable goods. Its role in transporting raw materials to industries and finished goods to markets is invaluable. Indian railways network is the largest in Asia and second largest in the world.

On the basis of width of the track, the Indian railways fall under four categories.
✓Broad gauge (1.676 meter width)
✓Meter gauge (1 meter width)
✓Narrow gauge (0.762 meter width)
✓Light gauge (0.610 meter width)

Metro Railways in India

There are 8 cities with metro rail connectivity in India. They are Kolkata (West Bengal), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Delhi, Bengaluru (Karnataka), Gurgaon (Haryana), Mumbai (Maharashtra), Jaipur (Rajasthan) and Kochi ( Kerala). The metro in Kolkata is the first one in India. It is also called as Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS). As of September 2018, India has 507 km of operational metro lines and 381 stations.

Waterways

A waterway is an important mode of transport for both passenger and cargo traffic in India. It is the oldest and also the cheapest means of transport and most suitable for carrying heavy and bulky materials from one country to another. It is a fuel-efficient and eco-friendly mode of transport. The water transport is of two types-

Inland Waterways

Ocean Water ways (sea routes)

Air Transport

Airways are the quickest, costliest, most modern and comfortable means of transport, Air transport facilitates connectivity on a national, regional and international scale. It has made accessibility easier by connecting difficult terrains like high mountains and sandy deserts. It carries passengers, freight and mail. Air transport plays a key in times of emergency as well as in the event of natural and man-made calamities like floods, epidemics and wars.