Introduction
People use various methods to move goods, commodities, ideas from one place to another.
Land, water, and air are the major modes of transportation.
Indian Transportation
Land transportation includes road, rail, and pipeline.
Road
With a total length of about 42.3 lakh km, India has one of the largest road networks in the world.
About 85% of passenger and 70% of freight traffic are carried by roads.
Sher Shah Suri built the Shahi (Royal) road to strengthen and consolidate his empire from the Indus
Valley to the Sonar Valley in Bengal.
This road was later renamed as the Grand Trunk (GT) Road during the British period, connecting Calcutta
and Peshawar.
At present, GT Road extends from Amritsar to Kolkata. It is bifurcated into 2 segments − (a) National
Highway (NH)-1 from Delhi to Amritsar, and (b) NH- 2 from Delhi to Kolkata.
Roads have been classified as National Highways (NH), State Highways (SH), Major District Roads, and
Rural Roads.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is an autonomous body under the Ministry of
Surface Transport was operationalized in 1995.
The main roads connecting two or more states are constructed and maintained by the Central
Government. These roads are known as the National Highways.
The NHAI is responsible for the development, maintenance, and operation of National Highways.
The National Highways constitute only 1.67 per cent of the total road length, but carry about 40 per cent
of the road traffic.
Golden Quadrilateral is 5,846 km long 4/6 lane, high density traffic corridor that connects India’s four big
metro cities : Delhi-Mumbai-Chennai-Kolkata.
India National Highway
With 4,076 km long road, North-South Corridor aims at connecting Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir with
Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu.
With 3,640 km of road length, the East-West Corridor has been planned to connect Silchar in Assam with
the port town of Porbandar in Gujarat.
State Highways are constructed and maintained by the state governments.
The State Highways join the state capitals with district headquarters and other important towns.
All State Highways collectively constitute about 4 per cent of the total road length in the country.
District roads are the roads connecting the District Headquarters and the other important nodes in the
district.
District roads account about 60.83 per cent of the total road length of the country.
Further, about 80 per cent of the total road length in India come under rural roads.
Other roads include Border Roads and International Highways.
The Border Road Organization (BRO) was established in May 1960 for the acceleration of economic
development and strengthening defense preparedness through rapid and coordinated improvement of
strategically important roads along the northern and north-eastern boundary of the country.
BRO has constructed roads in high altitude mountainous terrain joining Chandigarh with Manali
(Himachal Pradesh) and Leh-Ladakh , which runs at an average altitude of 4,270 meters above the mean
sea level.
The road density is only 12.14 km in Jammu and Kashmir, whereas in Kerala it is 517.77 km.
Railways
Indian Railways
Railways was introduced to India in 1853, when a line was constructed from Bombay to Thane covering
a distance of 34 km.
The total length of Indian Railways network is 64460 km. (March 2011).
Indian Railways system has been divided into sixteen zones (as shown in the map given below − the lines
shown in different colors illustrate the regions of respective zones).
India has three system of railways − broad gauge (the distance between rails is 1.676 meter); meter
gauge (the distance between rails is one meter); and narrow gauge (the distance between the rails is
0.762 meter or 0.610 meter).
Konkan Railway constructed along the western coast in 1998, is a landmark achievement of Indian
Railway.
Konkan Railway is 760 km long rail route connecting Roha in Maharashtra to Mangalore in Karnataka.
Konkan Railway crosses 146 rivers, streams, nearly 2000 bridges, and 91 tunnels.
Asia’s largest tunnel which is about 6.5 km long, is constructed on the Konkan railway route near
Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.
Waterways
Waterways of India
Water transport can be divided into two major categories − inland waterways and oceanic waterways.
India has 14,500 km of navigable waterways, contributing about 1% to the country’s transportation.
Currently, 5,685 km of major rivers is navigable by mechanized flat bottom vessels.
Inland Waterways Authority was set up in 1986 for the development, maintenance, and regulation of
national waterways in the country.
Major National Waterways (NW) of India are NW 1 (Allahabad-Haldia covers 1,620 km); NW 2 (Sadiya-
Dhubri covers 891 km); and NW 3 (KottapuramKollam covers 205 km).
Besides, NW 4 covers specified stretches of rivers Godavari and Krishna along with Kakinada Puducherry;
the total distance is 1078 km.
NW 5 covers specified stretches of river Brahmani along with Matai river, delta channels of Mahanadi
and Brahmani rivers and East Coast canals; the total distance is 588 km.
With 12 major and 185 minor ports, India has a vast coastline of approximate 7,517 km, including
islands.
Roughly 95% of India’s foreign trade by volume and 70% by value moves through ocean routes.
Airways
Air transport in India marked its beginning in 1911 with the commencement of airmail over a little
distance of 10 km between Allahabad and Naini.
International Airports
The Airport Authority of India is accountable for providing safe, efficient air traffic, and aeronautical
communication services in the Indian Air Space.
Pawan Hans is the helicopter service operating in hilly areas and is widely used by tourists in north-
eastern regions.
Pipeline
Indian Pipelines
Asia’s first cross country pipeline covering a distance of 1,157 km was constructed by Oil India Limited
(OIL) from Naharkatiya oilfield in Assam to Barauni refinery in Bihar, which further extended up to
Kanpur in 1966.
Mumbai High-Koyali and Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur (HVJ) are the most important pipelines in India.
1256 km long pipeline between Salaya (Gujarat) and Mathura (U.P.) has been constructed recently.
Railways, roads, airways and waterways are included in the transportation. The role of
transport network, which connects various regions, is important for sustainable
economic and social development of India. Transport routes bring together people
within the country and also from foreign countries. It helps to promote exchange of
customs, traditions and ideas. Transport routes play a crucial role in industrial
development by transporting basic requirements of industries like fuel, raw products, etc
at right time and in turn these routes bring industrial products to market. In India,
distribution of various goods has become mainly possible through transport routes.
Transport routes always give its important contribution in meeting the requirement of
ever increasing population of India. They also play an important role during natural
calamities like earthquakes, droughts, floods, and for defence purpose.
Rail transport in India
• Indian railways are the important and almost reliable means of passenger and goods
transport. Indian Railway is the largest railway network in Asia. It connects people and
places from different parts of the country. Industries and agriculture have speedily
developed due to railway transport. In India, the first railway was laid down from
Mumbai to Thane in 1853. The length of the track was only 34 kilometres. The
approximate length of the railways in India is 114000 km which connects about 75500
stations. There are more than 11000 trains run daily. To facilitate smooth functioning
and easy management of the railways, Indian railways are divided into 16 zones.
Besides, Konkan railway is a special zone.
• The distribution of Railway network is dense in the North Indian plains from Howrah to
Amritsar. The railway network is less in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand,
Assam etc due to various hilly or desert regions. It is economical and more convenient
to transport heavy and bulky commodities over longer distances by rail. As a part of
transport developments, metropolitan cities of Kolkata and Delhi have "metro" railways.
Due to it, strain on other public transport has been reduced and transport has become
smooth and speedy.
Important rail routes found in India
Mumbai – Delhi route: There are two rail routes to travel from Mumbai to Delhi. The
Central Railway route passes through stations like Nasik, Bhusaval, Itarsi, Jhansi, Agra,
etc. If we travel by Western Zone route we pass through Surat, Vadodra, Ratlam,
Mathura, etc.
Mumbai - Kolkata route: While travelling from Mumbai to Kolkata, there are two routes:
one passes through Nagpur and the other through Allahabad. While going via Nagpur,
the major stations we come across are Manmad, Bhusaval, Wardha, Nagpur, Raipur,
Tatanagar, etc. are some of the important stations.
Mumbai – Chennai route: The important major stations on this route are Pune, Solapur,
Raichur and Guntkal.
Pune – Bangalore route: Miraj, Belgaum, Hubli, Arsekri, are the main stations on this
route.
Chennai – Delhi route: Vijaywada, Kazipeth, Wardha, Nagpur, Itarsi, Jhansi are the
important stations of this route.
Gorakhpur – Tinsukia route: This route is important in view of defence of the country. It
is the only route connecting the north – east frontier area with the rest of the country.
Some of the major stations on this route are Rangia, Tezpur, Lakhimpur, etc.
Konkan Railway: The railway project has been established with the co-operation of
states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala and the railway ministry. The length
of this railway line from Roha to Mangalore is 760 kilometres. Main stations on this route
are Ratnagiri, Margao and Karwar.
Road routes in India
In India, many villages and cities are situated at long distance from each other. It is
possible to connect them by roads. Roads play an important role in transporting
perishable goods from one place to another. Out of the total length of transport routes in
the country 85% consists of roads. India has more than 35lakhs kilometres length of
roads. Density of roads is high in the states of Kerala, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Goa, etc
while it is low in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim,
Uttarakhand, etc. Generally, mountainous or desert regions have low density of roads.
As per the basis of functions, roads are broadly classified into Village roads, State
Highways and Major District roads and National highways and Express ways.
Village roads: The roads which connect villages and districts are called as village roads.
The quality of these roads is not good as compared to other roads. These roads are
important for transporting agricultural and forest goods from villages to markets. These
roads are useful in providing various services to rural areas. Village roads are controlled
and managed by Zilla Parishad.
State Highways and Major District roads: The roads which connect the state head
quarters and district places are known as State Highways. The roads which join the
taluka places and market towns are known as Major District roads. Most of the State
Highways are also connected to the National Highways whereas Major District roads
are connected to the State Highways. State Highways and Major District roads are
under the control of State government.
National Highways and Express ways: National Highways connect state capitals,
important cities, big industrial and commercial centres, major ports and military sites.
These roads pass through various states of the country. A private body looks after their
development and maintenance. Out of the total length of roads of the country, length of
national highways is only 2%. However, about 40% of the total road transportation takes
place on the national highways. Length of national highways in the country is about
more than 65,600 kilometres. India has about 219 National highways. Huge
transportation of goods takes place on the national highways. National highways have
helped easy transportation of goods to distant markets in the country.
Express ways are used for safe and rapid transport. The express way between Mumbai
and Pune has been developed by the National Highway Authority of India. On the lines
of the express way, there is an ambitious scheme known as the Golden Quadrilateral
Highway Project. It connects the four metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and
Kolkata. The East-West Corridor highway connects Silchar to Porbandar and the North-
South Corridor highway connects Srinagar to Kanniyakumari. These highways have
four to six lanes. Following are some highways having more than 1000 kilometres
length:
1. Delhi to Kolkata
2. Delhi to Mumbai
3. Agra to Mumbai
4. Chennai to Thane
5. Chennai to Baharagora
6. Kolkata to Hazira
7. Varanasi to Kanniyakumarai
8. Panvel to Idapalli
9. Pathankot to Samkhiyali
10. Pindwara to Allahabad
11. Barhi to Guwahati
Airways in India
• India being a nation of vast land, air places joining the various places within the
country are developed on large scale. India has established special relationship at world
level due to its industrial and cultural progress. Due to globalization, in order to
communicate with different countries in the world, airways have been developed.
• The management of air routes is done by an autonomous government organisation.
Management of internal airways is being done by “Indian Airlines”. This service is useful
of transportation of passengers, goods and also offers postal services. Besides, this
services area also provided to the neighbouring countries by Indian Air Lines. “Air India”
is another organisation being used for transportation of international passengers and
cargo services.
• On the basis of new National Policy, an agreement of air services has been done with
about one hundred countries. Therefore, communication with air ways with U.K., China,
Australia, Germany, France, Gulf Countries and U.S.A has increased. Due to the newly
changed policy of the Central Government, private air organisations are also providing
air transport services. “Pawanhans” is a government organisation which provides
helicopter services. In India, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad,
Bangalore, Srinagar, etc have international airports.
Water routes
Passengers and goods are transported by oceans, seas, canals and other waterways.
Water transport plays a key role in international trade. Exhaustible goods can be
transported to long distances at less expenditure by waterways. There are two types of
waterways viz. Inland waterways and sea ways.
Inland Waterways: Rivers, canals, lakes are used for transporting goods and
passengers. These are known as "inland water transport". They are used for
transporting agricultural products, minerals, coal etc. The length of inland waterways in
India is about 14500km. Allahabad- Haldia in Ganga waterways, Sadia- Dhubri
Brahmaputra waterways, kollam- Kottapuram of west coastal canal, Champakara and
Udyogmandal canal are examples of inland waterways. Apart from these, Godavari,
Krishna, Mahanadi and the backwaters of Kerala are included in inland waterways
transportation.
Sea Ways: India has a long coastline of about 7517 kilometres along with its special
economic zone. There are about 14 major ports and approximately 190 minor ports in
the coastal region. These major ports handle 95% of India's foreign trade. There are
many natural ports along the west coast of India. Ports are protected from strong winds
and open sea waves due to coastal creeks and bays. The seas along such coasts are
deep and therefore big ships and boats can reach to the coast. Main ports along the
west coast are Kandla, Mumbai, Marmagao, New Mangalore, Kochi, etc.
Important ports found in India
Kandla: It is located in the Gulf of Kuchch in Gujarat state. About 17 per cent of India's
trade is handled from this port. Trade of products like mineral oil, salt, chemical
fertilizers, cement, cotton and sugar is carried out here.
Mumbai: About 8 percent of goods are traded from Mumbai. Jawaharlal Nehru port at
Nhava-Sheva helps to reduce burden on Mumbai port.
Marmagao: This port is in Gao state along Western coast of India. Marmagao port
export minerals like manganese, iron ore and bauxite. Besides, Karwar port handles
trade of Iron ore, manganese and petro-chemicals. This port has all types of modern
facilities.
Kolkata: Kolkata is situated along the coast of West Bengal. About 14 per cent of India's
trade is handled at Kolkata port. To the south of Kolkata, there is another port named
Haldia. Larger ships can have access to this port. This port transport several
commodities like minerals and industrial goods.
Chennai: Chennai is an old and commercially important port along the coast of the state
of Tamil Nadu. This port transports agricultural products, minerals and industrial goods.
Due to the facilities of oil tankers, the port also transports mineral oil and petrol.
Vishakhapatnam: This port is a good natural harbor. It is situated along the Andhra
Pradesh coast and it handles 16 per cent of India's trade. Ship building, repairs and
maintenance of ships are done over.