GEOGRAPHY

Transport

Transport is an act of moving someone or something from

Its development is necessary for the economic development of the country.

Development of the transport network helps in the movement off passengers
and transporting materials from one place to another.

Importance of Development of Transport:

1. Helps in assembling raw materials from different parts of the country.

2. Helps in distributing the finished products
3. Helps in the better utilisation of resources of the backward areas.
4. Facilitates cultural interaction between people.
5. Bring people closer and contribute towards the emergence of a global
society/village.
6. Aids in the process of industrialisation and urbanisation.
7. Removes scarcity of goods during a crisis.
8. Helps in minimising the effects of natural disasters.

Types Of Transport
1. Land transport 2. Water Transport 3. Air Transport
a. Roadways
b. Railways

Lands Transport

Roadways [Second Largest Network of Roadways]

Advantages
1. Comparatively less capital investment
2. Reduces loading and unloading expenses
3. Roadways are the feeders to all other transports
 4. Carries goods and peoples to areas which are inaccessible by other
modes of transport.
5. Flexible services regarding timing and route
6. Convenient for short distance travel.
7. Used to carry perishable goods

Disadvantages
1. Dependent on season
2. Not suitable for long distance and bulky items
3. Comparatively slow and limited speed
4. Comparatively less organised, irregular and unreliable
5. Increases Air Pollution

Roadways
1. National Highways 2. District Road
3. State Highways 4. Village Road

National Highways are maintained by the Central Public Works Department

(CPWD), National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

NHAI has 2 project, The Golden Quadrilateral or GQ, and the

North-South-East-West Corridor (NSWE)

The golden quadrilateral is a super highway connecting the metro cities of

Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. By a 6 lane on each side
Features/ Advantages
1. Highways connecting major cities and ports
2. Provides an impetus (enhancement) to truck transport
3. Enables industrial growth of the small areas it passes through.
4. Increases job opportunities.

North-South-East-West Corridor (NSWE)

1. North- Srinagar 2. South- Kanyakumari
3. West- Porbandar Gujarat 4. East Silchar, Assam

IMPORTANCE
1. Development of areas
2. Employment of a large number of people
3. Reduces travel time and operating cost.
A. Expressways
6-8 lanes planned for high speed traffic having very few intersections
Facilities include lane dividers, telephone booths, CCTV cameras, mobile
radars.
Important Highways
1. Mumbai- Pune Expressways [Mumbai Maharashtra]
2. Ahmedabad-Vadodara [Ahmedabad Gujarat]
3. Yamuna Expressway [Delhi-Agra]
4.

2. State Highway
Constructed and maintained by the state government. It joins the state capital
with district headquarters and other important cities.

3. District Road
Joins district Headquarters with other district places in the district and with
other major towns.

4. Village Roads
They are maintained by Panchayat and connect villages with neighbouring
towns and cities.

Important National Highway

NH1- Grand Trump Road (GT ROAD)
It covers 5 countries: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Its known as NH1 in Delhi-Amritsar

Its known as NH2 from Kolkata-Delhi

Q. Why does the Northern Plain have the densest network of roadways?
Ans. due to the flat land, fertile soil it helps in the agrarian economy and the
flat land makes it easier to build the roads.
The density of population is high so associated with urbanisation and
industrialisation.

Q. Why does the North- Eastern part have a less developed network of
roadways?
Ans. due to the rugged landscapes, swift streams, thick forests and due to it
being a backward economy and less population density.
Railways
Largest network of railways is in india
The first railway service was on 16th april 1883, from thane to mumbai 34km

Advantages
● Facilitates long distance travel
● Transports bulky goods which are not possible by roadways
● Quick and speedy
● Regular and certain
● Easy transportation of coal and raw materials
● Safe means of transportation
● Scope for employment ( railways are the largest employers in india)
● Comfortable for elderly and infants

Disadvantages
● Large capital investment required in setting up
● Inflexible in routes and timings
● Does not provide door-to-door services
● Unsuitable and uneconomical for short distances and small volumes
● More time and labour intensive
● Centralise operations so local people are not able to meet their
demands
●
Q. why is railways well developed in northern plains
ANS. Level land, high density of population, rich agricultural land which
facilitates exchange of raw materials.

Q. Why are railways not well developed in Deccan, himalayas, thar desert,
runn of kutch?
Ans. Assam bihar- too many rivers so bridges have to be constructed
Runn of kutch, himalayas, thar desert- ruggedness, rough topography

4 zones of railways- Northern, southern, Western and eastern

3 types of gauges(Distance between two rails)

1. Metre gauge (1m gap)
2. Broad gauge (1.68m gap)
3. Narrow gauge (0.76m or 0.61m gap)
Most metre gauges are being converted to broad gauges to avoid delay in
trans-shipment of passengers and goods train both.
Airways

Characteristics:
● Ensures uninterrupted journey over any form of land or water body
● Fastest and quickest means of transport
● Extremely expensive

Advantages
● Fastest mode of transport
● Provides regular,comfortable and efficient services
● Follows the shortest and direct routes overseas, mountains or forests
● Used to carry freight and passengers to areas that are not accessible by
any other modes of transport
● Provides emergency services in areas affected by floods, earthquakes
and other natural calamities
● Most suitable for carrying light weight goods of high value
● Plays an important role in the defence of our country.
● Helps in space exploration

Disadvantages
● Most costliest mode of transport
● Carrying capacity is small not suitable for bulky goods
● Determined by weather conditions which can be uncertain and
unreliable
● Involves high risks due to accidents and breakdowns
● Requires large amount of investment for construction and maintenance

International Airports

Airport Location

1. Indira Gandhi International New Delhi

Airport
2. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Kolkata, West Bengal
International Airport
3. Chhatrapati Shivaji Mumbai, Maharashtra
International airport
4. Meenambakkam International Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Airport
Other international airports are at Amritsar, Guwahati, Hyderabad,
Ahmedabad, Kochi.
Waterways (Natural Highways)
1. Inland waterways 2. oceanic/coastal waterways

Characteristics of Waterways

● Oldest and the cheapest mode of transport

● Coastal investment is less as construction and maintenance cost is less
● Cost of operation is also the least
● Bulkiest of goods are shipped for long distance as its carrying capacity
is huge
● Most important mode of transport as regard to foreign trades as it
connects the entire world

Factors affecting Inland waterways

● Perennial flowing of rivers, presence of waterfalls in the course can
cause an hindrance
● Requires regular desilting which is costly

Advantages [COMMON]
● Natural highways
● Least cost in construction and maintenance
● Cheapest mode of transport
● Large carrying capacity of heavy and bulky goods
● Much more flexible than roadways, railways, and airways
● Risk of accidents and breakdowns are much lower

Disadvantages [COMMON]
● Slowest mode of transport
● Can not be used in areas which have deep canals and rivers
● Changes in course of the river many cause dislocation
● Not suitable for small business

Coastal ports strongest advantages

Indispensable (essential) for foreign trades
Risk of damage in transit is less
Ports
EASTERN SIDE OF INDIA (artificial harbours)

1. Kolkata Port (Gateways of Eastern India)

Left bank of river Hugli River, riverine port 128 km away from the mouth
of Bay of Bengal
Maximum import-export of the eastern side of india

Handles export of jute, tea and coat and steel

2. Haldia
Made to handle the load of Kolkata port, located at the merging of the
rivers haldia and hugli

3. Visakhapatnam Port (Andhra Pradesh)

Deepest, land locked and well protected port
Handles crude oil, petroleum products

4. Chennai
Oldest artificial port on the eastern coast
Handles crude oil, petroleum products, fertilisers, iron ore, dry cargo
(spices,rice etc)

5. Ennore
Satellite port to Chennai Port, shares the burden of the chennai port
Only public company
Decongests and improves the quality of chennai port

6. Tuticorin Port, Tamil Nadu

Handles coal, salt, oil, dry cargo, petroleum products
It is known as the Pearl City and is ideal for pearl fishing.

WEST COASTS (most are natural)

1. Mumbai (Gateway of india to the west)

Biggest port of India
1/5th of the total water traffic of india
Handles mineral oil and crude oil

2. Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT)

 To Reduce the pressure of port of mumbai

3. Kandla Port
Tidal port and a free trade zone
Located on the eastern side of the runn of kutch
Handles crude oil, petroleum products, edible oil, salt and cotton etc.

4. Mormugao port, Goa

Located at the entrance of zuari estuary
Handles the export of iron ore

5. New Mangalore port, Karnataka

Handles export of iron ore from
And import of petroleum products, fertilisers and edible oil

6. Kochi
Handles tea,spices and coffee