22-04-2014, 11:44 AM
Transportation in India
India’s transportation system comprises of government run railways, roads, civil aviation,
shipping, ports, inland water transport, and pipelines. The main thrust underlying the
planning of transport system was to ensure a systematic movement of raw materials to plant
sites, and of finished products to consumption centres. India’s transport infrastructure has
witnessed a good growth in last 50 years. Indian Railways is one of the largest systems in the
world; with a network of about 63000 route km. it is the principle mode of transport for long
haul freight movement in bulk, long distance passenger traffic and in some cases mass rapid
transit in sub-urban areas. The total freight and passenger traffic carried by railways increased
six folds from 1951 to 1999. The length of national highways has grown from 22000km in
1951 to 49000km in 1999; in 2001 it stood at 57737km. the road traffic has increased eight
folds from 1951 to 1999.In the port sector there has been around 15 fold increases in traffic
from 19.38 tons in 1951 to 288 tons in 1999.