Transport and Communication
1. Learning Objectives
After reading these notes, you will be able to:
2. Means of Transport — Overview
Road, Railway, Pipeline
Inland, Seaways
National, International
3. Road Transport
🗓️ Table 7.1 — India Road Network 2020
| Road Category | Length (km) |
|---|---|
| National Highways | 1,36,440 |
| State Highways | 1,76,818 |
| Other Roads | 59,02,539 |
| Total | 62,15,797 |
🛤️ National Highways (NH)
Built/maintained by Central Govt.; inter-state transport, defence movement; connect state capitals, major cities, ports. Grew from 19,700 km (1951) to 1,36,440 km (2020) — only 2% of road length but carry 40% of traffic. NHAI (1995) manages them.
🏛️ State Highways (SH)
Built/maintained by state governments; join state capitals with district HQs and important towns; linked to NHs.
🏘️ District & Rural Roads
District roads: link district HQs to other nodes. Rural roads: ~80% of India’s total road length — vital rural links, density varies with terrain (built under PMGSY).
🌍 Border Roads / International Highways
BRO (est. May 1960) builds strategic roads in high-altitude terrain (e.g., Chandigarh-Manali-Leh at 4,270m avg altitude); also does snow clearance. International highways link neighbouring countries.
🚧 Key Development Projects (NHAI)
- Golden Quadrilateral: 5,846 km, 4/6-lane corridor connecting Delhi-Mumbai-Chennai-Kolkata.
- North-South Corridor: Srinagar to Kanniyakumari (incl. Cochin-Salem Spur), 4,076 km.
- East-West Corridor: Silchar (Assam) to Porbandar (Gujarat), 3,640 km.
- Bharatmala Pariyojana: ~26,000 km of Economic Corridors — plus ring roads/bypasses to decongest cities.
4. Rail Transport
📏 Gauge Categories
| Gauge | Track Width | Length (2019-20) |
|---|---|---|
| Broad Gauge | 1.676 m | 63,950 km |
| Metre Gauge | 1 m | 2,402 km |
| Narrow Gauge | 0.762 m / 0.610 m | 1,604 km (mostly hilly areas) |
- Metre & narrow gauges are being converted to broad gauge; steam engines replaced by diesel/electric, improving speed, haulage capacity and station environment.
- Metro rail has revolutionised urban transport; CNG buses + metro help control urban air pollution.
- British-era routes mainly served resource exploitation (towns, plantation/raw-material areas, hill stations, cantonments); post-Independence routes extended further.
- Railway density is lower in hill states, NE states, central India and Rajasthan.
5. Water Transport
🌊 Inland Waterways
- India has 14,500 km of navigable waterways — contributing only ~1% to transportation; faced tough competition from road/rail, and river diversion for irrigation reduced navigability.
- Inland Waterways Authority set up in 1986; the National Waterways Act, 2016 declared 111 inland waterways as National Waterways (NWs).
- Kerala’s backwaters (Kayal) are especially significant — cheap transport plus tourism (famous Nehru Trophy Boat Race/Vallamkali).
| Waterway | Stretch | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|
| NW 1 | Prayagraj–Haldia (1,620 km) | Navigable by mechanical boats up to Patna, ordinary boats to Haridwar |
| NW 2 | Sadiya–Dhubri (891 km) | Brahmaputra, navigable to Dibrugarh; shared with Bangladesh |
| NW 3 | Kottapuram–Kollam (205 km) | West coast canal + Champakara & Udyogmandal canals |
| NW 4 | Godavari–Krishna stretch (1,078 km) | Includes Kakinada-Puducherry canal stretch |
| NW 5 | Brahmani & Mahanadi stretch (588 km) | Includes East Coast canals |
🌊 Oceanic Routes
- India’s coastline: ~7,517 km (incl. islands), supported by 12 major and ~200 minor ports.
- ~95% of foreign trade by volume and 70% by value moves via ocean routes; also used for island-mainland transport.
6. Air Transport & Oil/Gas Pipelines
✈️ Air Transportation
- Fastest means of transport — essential for a vast country with diverse terrain/climate; began in 1911 (airmail, Prayagraj–Naini, 10 km); real growth post-Independence.
- Airport Authority of India ensures safe air traffic & aeronautical communication.
- UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik): Regional Connectivity Scheme to make flying affordable and boost regional aviation.
- Pawan Hans: Helicopter service for hilly/NE areas, tourism and petroleum sector support.
🛢️ Oil and Gas Pipelines
- Most convenient & efficient for transporting liquids/gases over long distances (even solids, as slurry).
- Oil India Limited (OIL) (1959) built Asia’s first cross-country pipeline: Naharkatiya (Assam) to Barauni (Bihar), 1,157 km, later extended to Kanpur (1966).
- GAIL (India) Ltd. (1984) built the Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur (HVJ) gas pipeline (1,700 km), linking Mumbai High/Bassein gas fields to industries in W. & N. India. Gas infrastructure has since expanded 10x to ~18,500 km, targeting 34,000+ km as a national Gas Grid.
7. Communication Networks
💻 Personal Communication
Internet is the most effective/advanced — direct contact via email, access to knowledge, e-commerce, money transactions — efficient, low-cost, widely used in urban areas.
📻 Mass Communication — Radio
Started 1923 (Radio Club of Bombay); brought under govt. control (1930, Indian Broadcasting System) → All India Radio (1936) → Akashwani (1957). Broadcasts info, education, entertainment, and special bulletins for Parliament/legislature sessions.
📺 Mass Communication — Television
Began 1959 in Delhi; expanded post-1972; delinked from AIR in 1976, renamed Doordarshan (DD); after INSAT-1A, Common National Programmes (CNP) extended services to remote rural areas.
🛰️ Satellite Communication
Vital for weather forecasting, disaster monitoring, border surveillance. Two systems: INSAT (1983, multi-purpose — telecom, meteorology) and IRS (1988, remote sensing via India’s own PSLV). NRSC, Hyderabad processes this data for resource management.
Summary — Quick Revision
Roads: 62.16 lakh km total; NH = 2% of length but 40% of traffic; NHAI manages NH.
Railways: 17 zones; 3 gauges (Broad/Metre/Narrow); Konkan Railway a key engineering feat.
Water Transport: Cheapest mode; 5 National Waterways under the 2016 Act; 12 major ports handle 95% foreign trade by volume.
Air Transport: Fastest but costly; UDAN scheme boosts regional connectivity.
Pipelines: OIL (1959) & GAIL (1984) — efficient for oil/gas over long distances.
Communication: Personal (internet) vs Mass (radio, TV, satellite — INSAT & IRS).
Important Terms to Remember
- National Highway (NH): Central-government-maintained roads for inter-state transport.
- NHAI: National Highways Authority of India (1995), manages NH development.
- BRO: Border Road Organisation (1960), builds strategic border roads.
- Broad/Metre/Narrow Gauge: Rail track width categories.
- National Waterway (NW): Inland waterways declared under the National Waterways Act, 2016.
- Hinterland: The inland area served by a port.
- UDAN: Regional Connectivity Scheme for affordable regional air travel.
- INSAT / IRS: India’s satellite systems for telecommunication/meteorology and remote sensing respectively.
- PSLV: Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, India’s own satellite launcher.