Class X Chapter Transport
Importance of Transport in India
• Helps in better utilisation of resources
• Quick movement of goods and passengers from one place to another
• Helps in industrialization, urbanisation and agricultural growth of the country.
• Helps in national integration.
Types of roads
• Village roads
• District roads
• State highways
• National highways
• Expressway
• Border roads
National highways are four to six lane roads connecting all major ports ,towns,cities ,state capital with
national capital.
▪ They carry about 40% of total traffic of the country.
▪ National highways are developed, maintained and managed by NHAI
(National Highway Authority of India )
▪ National highways are upgraded, rehabilitate and widened to a higher standard by NHDP
( National Highway development project )
Golden Quadrilateral
These are super highways connecting four mega cities Delhi Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.
It is managed by NHAI.
Economics Importance of Golden Quadrilateral
▪ Provides smaller towns better market accessibility
▪ Helps in quick transportation of agricultural products to market
▪ Provides employment to large no of people in construction work
▪ Promotes truck transport
▪ Supports cement industry, steel industry and other industries that provide raw materials for
construction work.
▪ Helps in industrial growth of small towns
▪ Helps in national integration
North South corridor
They are four to six lane super highways connecting Srinagar and Kanyakumari.
East West corridor
They are four to six lane super highways connecting Silchar in Assam and Porbandar in Gujrat.
Expressways
• These are six to eight lane super highways connecting two mega cities
• They reduce traffic of national highways
• Reduce travel time.
• Yamuna expressway in UP is the longest expressway in India.
• Other expressways are :-
Mumbai-Pune expressway
Noida-Greater Noida Expressway
Ahmedabad- Vadodara expressway
Delhi Gurgaon expressway
Border Roads
These roads are found in North and North East border areas.
The BRO (The Border Road Organisation) was set up to strengthen defence preparedness and
accelerating economic development through improvement of roads along the northern and north-
eastern boundary of the country. Apart from the construction and maintenance of roads in strategically
sensitive areas, the BRO undertakes snow clearance in high altitude areas and construction of airfields,
buildings and permanent bridges.
BOT- Built, operate and Transfer policy under which a private company builds a road and has the right to
retain and collect toll for a fixed period. After that period, it is transferred to public sector.
Advantages of Roadways
• Provides door to door service
• Construction and maintenance is cheaper
• Helps in quick movement of perishable items
• Can be built across difficult terrain.
• Short distance communication is possible.
• Provides employment to large no of people
Disadvantages
• Kuccha roads are not serviceable during monsoon
• Limited carrying capacity
• Problem of traffic jam,road accidents
• Subject to air pollution.
RAILWAYS
Types of railway gauge
Narrow gauge
Found in hilly areas with 0.76m width
Meter gauge
One meter width and mainly found inUP, Bihar, Assam, Gujrat, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Broad gauge
80%of rail routes in India are of this type with 1.67m width
Advantages of roadways
• Carries large number of people and goods
• Long distance travelling is comfortable and easy
• Provides cheaper transportation of raw materials to various industries like coal, iron ore etc
• Provides largest employment to Indian Population.
• Helps in better distribution of agricultural products
Disadvantages
• Cannot be constructed in hilly areas
• Travel time is long and tedious.
• Problem of cancellation of tickets, derailment, changing of tracks.
• Construction and maintenance is costly.
• Railways are absent in northern part of India because
• These areas are sparsely populated
• Difficult terrain
• Absence of major economic activities
• Thickly forested
Waterways
It is of two types :-
▪ Inland waterways
▪ Coastal waterways
Advantages
▪ Cheapest means of transport
▪ Most suitable for carrying heavy and bulky materials
▪ Fuel efficient and eco friendly.
▪ It is also a comfortable option for leisure travel.
▪ Less traffic and is safe in comparison to road and air transport
▪ Coastal waterways promotes inter national trade
▪ Helps in growth of small towns.
Disadvantages
▪ Slowest means if transport
▪ Depend upon weather conditions
▪ Limited connectivity
▪ Depends on other means of transport
Peninsular rivers are not ideal for navigation
Because they are seasonal
They are shorter and full of waterfalls
The Inland Waterway Autority has declared 5 Inland waterways
National waterway no 1
It comprises of Ganga -Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system connecting Allahabad and [Link] is navigable
by merchandised boats upto Patna and by ordinary boats upto Haridwar.
National waterway no 2
The river Brahmaputra connecting Sadiya and Dhuburi is declared as NW [Link] connects NE region with
Kolkata and Haldia ports through Bangladesh and Sunderland waterways.
National waterway no 3
It runs from Kollam to Kottapuram on backwater of Kerala. It comprises of West Coast Canal in Kerala
along with Champakara and Udyogmandal canal.
Major ports
Mumbai port
• It is the biggest port of India.
• It is s natural harbour on West coast.
• Nhava Sheva port
• It is India’s biggest Ultra Morden seaport off Mumbai.
Kolkata port
• It is a riverine port on the bank of Hooghly river.
• Haldia port
• It is a port developed on river Hooghly.
Pradeep port
• It is the deepest port of India.
• Visakhapatnam port
• It is India’s deepest landlocked port.
Chennai port
• It is the oldest artificial port of India in the east coast.
• New Mangalore port
• It is the deepest inner harbour port
• It is the first port India which is a public company.
Kandla port
• It is a tidal port having a Free Trade Zone
Marmagaon port
It is situated in West Coast of India and is well protected from South West Monsoon.
New Tuticorin port
It is one of the oldest port of India and is opened throughout the year.
Air Transport
Advantages
• It is the fastest and comfortable mode of transport.
• It can cross mountain barriers, sandy deserts, oceans or forests
• Remote places can be reached by air transport
• It is of great importance during natural calamities like floods and earthquake.
• It plays a significant role in the National defence.
Disadvantages
• It is most expensive mode of travel
• Limited connectivity
• Limited carrying capacity
• It is weather dependent
• Uses non renewable sources of energy.
• Freight charges are very high
Pawan Hans Ltd provides helicopter services in India. It is one of the largest helicopter operator in Asia.
• It is used in petroleum sector mainly by ONGC(Oil and natural gas corporation)
• It provides services to inaccessible areas and difficult terrain
• It provides tourist service in hilly areas.
Air India is 16th largest airline in Asia which provides both domestic and international services.
Air transport has become very important in North Eastern part of India. This is because these are
mountainous regions and border areas.
The Airport Authority of India (AAI)and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have collaborated
to develop the GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN).It is a regional Satellite Based
Augmentation System (SBAS)
