Road and Transport of India

Road transport is considered to be one of the most cost effective and preferred modes of transport, both for freight and passengers, keeping in view its level of penetration and last mile connectivity in populated areas.
A good road Network is vital to the Economic Development and social integration of the country.
It provides connectivity to remote areas, accessibility to markets, schools, and hospitals; and opens up backward regions to trade and Investment.
Roads also play an important role in inter-modal transport development, establishing links with Airports, railway stations, and Ports.
The capacity of National Highways in terms of handling traffic (passenger and goods) needs to be in pace with the industrial Growth. India has one of the largest road networks of over 54.72 lakh km.
It comprises National Highways, Expressways, State Highways, Major District Roads, Other District Roads and Village Roads with following length distribution:
National Highways / Expressway 1,03,933 km
State Highways 1,61,487 km
Other Roads 52,07,044km
Total 54,72,464 km

National Highway Authority of India

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been set up by an Act of the Parliament viz. The National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988.
It has been entrusted with the National Highways Development Project, along with other projects (Special Accelerated Road Development Plan –North East & Special Projects in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal). This brings under its purview 48590 kms of National Highways as on 31.03.2016.

Vision of NHAI

To meet the Nation’s need for the provision and maintenance of National Highways network to global standards and to meet the user’s expectations in the most time bound and cost effective manner, within the strategic policy framework set by the Government of India and thus promote economic well-being and Quality Of Life of the people.

Mission of NHAI

To develop, maintain and manage National Highways vested in it by the Central Government.
To regulate and control the plying of vehicles on National Highways for its proper management.
To develop and provide consultancy and construction Services in India and abroad, and carry out research activities in relation to the development, maintenance and management of highways or any other facilities there at.
To advise the Central Government on matters relating to highways.
To assist on such terms and conditions as may be mutually agreed upon, any State Government in the formulation and implementation of schemes for highway development.

Rail Sector

Interesting facts about India Railways

Indian Railways started its service 161 years ago on 16 April 1853 when the first passenger train was run over a stretch of 33 kilometres from Mumbai to Thane. The train with 14 railway carriages, carrying around 400 guests, left Bori Bunder at 3:30 p.m. that day. It was declared a public holiday then.
Nationalised in 1951, Indian Railways is today the largest rail network in Asia and the world’s second largest network operated under a single management. It has 115,000 km of track length. It runs 12,617 trains to carry over 23 million passengers daily – equivalent to moving the entire Population of Australia – connecting more than 7,172 stations.
Railways runs more than 7,421 freight trains carrying 3 million tonnes (MT) of freight every day. It has entered a select club of railways that includes China, Russia and USA in carrying more than one billion tons of freight annually. Indian Railways has over 239,281 freight wagons, 59,713 passenger coaches and 9,549 locomotives.
A separate budget for the Railways has its genesis in the recommendations of the 10-member Acworth Committee in 1920-21, headed by British railway economist William Acworth. Following his report, the railway finances of India were separated from the general government finances in 1924.
In the post-Independence era, railways accounted for 75% of public transport and 90% of freight. Hence, the need for a separate budget. Today, in contrast, the share has reduced to 15% and 30%.
The first live telecast of railway budget took place on 24 March 1994. Lalu Prasad Yadav, who remained Railway Minister from 2004 to May 2009 presented the railway budget six times in a row.
In 2000, Mamata Banerjee, who is the current Chief Minister of West Bengal, became the first woman Railway Minister. In 2002, she also became the first female railway minister to present the railway budget. Additionally, she holds the record of being the only woman who presented the railway budget for two different governments in the centre (NDA and UPA).
India’s fastest train has successfully completed a trial run at 160 km per hour. In a few months, with the rollout of the first semi-high speed train, passengers will be able to travel between Delhi and Agra in just 90 minutes, cutting the journey time by 30 minutes.
The New Delhi-Bhopal Shatabdi is currently the fastest train on the Indian Railways network. It reaches a maximum speed of 150 kmph on the Faridabad-Agra section. The Metupalayam-Ooty Nilgiri Passenger train, which runs at an Average speed of 10 kmph, is the slowest train.
The New Delhi Railway Station has secured a place in the Guinness Book of Records for having the world’s largest Route Relay Interlocking System. This system is put to use where multiple tracks are interlocked. It helps divert train movements during periods of high traffic volumes.
With over 1.4 million employees on its rolls, Indian Railways is the world’s seventh largest employer after the US Department of Defence, the Chinese Army, Wal-Mart, China National Petroleum, State Grid of China and British Health Service, according to The Economist.
The renovated platform at Gorakhpur Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh has become the world’s longest, measuring 1,366 meter. Until recently, Kharagpur in West Bengal was the longest platform at 1,072 meter, followed by State Street Center subway station in Chicago at 1,067meter.
Indian Railways is building the world’s highest railway bridge-five times the height of Qutub Minar and 35 meters taller than Eiffel Tower. It will come up over the Chenab river on the under construction rail link to the Kashmir Valley. The bridge will rise 359 meters over the Chenab on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project. Currently, the world’s tallest rail bridge runs over France’s Tarn river.
Indian Railways’ longest tunnel is Pir Panjal that links Kashmir Valley with Banihal in Jammu. It runs for a distance of over 11.2 km. The train with the longest route is Vivek Express. Running between Dibrugarh and Kanyakumari, it covers 4,286 km in around 82 hours and 30 minutes.
Toilets were introduced on Indian Railways in 1909, more than half a century after the start of operations. Indian Railways started computerized reservation in New Delhi in 1986.
Station with the shortest name is Ib in Odisha. Venkatanarasimharajuvariipeta is the station with the longest name (29 letters). This is sometimes spelled with ‘Sri’ prefixed.
Four sites of Indian Railways have been declared as “World Heritage Sites” by the UNESCO. These are Darjeeling, Himalayan Railway inscribed in 1999, Mumbai CST Building inscribed in 2004, Neelgiri Mountain Railways inscribed in 2005 and Kalka-Shimla Railways inscribed in 2008.
The Fairy Queen, plying between New Delhi and Alwar in Rajasthan, is the oldest functioning steam engine in the world. It has been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records and has also received the Heritage Award from the International Tourist Bureau, Berlin.

Airports

There are a total of 454 airports in India, out of which around 90 are open for commercial services and 16 are designated as international airports.
Delhi and Mumbai are by far the busiest airports in India, carrying almost 2.5 times traffic as the next busiest airport.
Air traffic has increased rapidly in the last decade, although this has slowed down in the last few years.
During the period 2007-08 to 2012-13, Passenger traffic and Freight traffic grew at a cumulative annual growth rate of 6.4% and 5.0% respectively. Indians are still flying in much greater numbers.
However, a number of Indian airlines have faced challenging market conditions in the recent years, and the rate of growth is likely to be significantly less than initially projected, estimates suggest that passenger traffic is expected to grow to 320 million by 2022-23 (an annual cumulative growth rate of 8.44%).
It is anticipated by the civil aviation ministry that domestic cargo will grow by 8 times during the period 2009-10 to 2031-32 from its level of 2009-10 whereas international cargo will grow by 7.6 times.
The growth so achieved has put tremendous pressure on current airport Infrastructure-2/”>INFRASTRUCTURE in the country.
The Indian Government has projected that an investment of around US$ 12 billion in the next five year plan will be needed to help cope with additional demand, and private sector participation is expected to play a key role.
75% of the investment envisaged in the next five year plan is expected to be contributed by private sector.
The private sector has already invested heavily to upgrade the airport infrastructure in several cases, with private participation in recent years at Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. Greenfield airport projects are planned in emerging Tier II cities such as Goa, Pune, Navi Mumbai, and Kannur.
Further, 35 non-metro airports are proposed for development, which provide excellent avenues for private contracting and bringing in international technologies for construction.

Ports

India is blessed with a coastline of more than 7500 kms and countess opportunities for natural ports.
Ports in India are classified as Major and Non-Major Ports. There are currently 13 Major ports in India, out of which are under the jurisdiction of Central Government of India.
Additionally, there are more than 180 non-major ports governed by the state governments. However, only about 60 of these non-major ports are currently operational.
The eastern coast of India generally deals with Bulk Cargo, while the western coast deals majorly in containerized cargo transport.
Ports in India handle more than 90% of the country’s trade by weight. Overall Indian ports handled close to 1 Billion MT of cargo in 2012-13. Port traffic expected to grow at a CAGR of 12% to reach 2500 million tonnes by 2019-20, with non-major ports expected to lead the growth and ease capacity constraints of Major Ports.
43 port modernization and expansion projects are currently under implementation with an estimated cost US$ 2 billion. These projects are expected to provide capacity addition of about 220 MT.
Current capacity of major ports in India is 745 MMT against the traffic of 545.79 MMT 2012-13, giving them a capacity utilization of 73%. India’s existing ports infrastructure is not sufficient to handle the increased loads, even where ports have already been modernised.
There are capacity constraints with containerization level at only 25% as compared to global average of 60-70%. Further, ports face huge congestion and average time for clearing import-export cargo is about 19 days.
This is due to bottlenecks at almost all levels of the chain, including cargo handling and offtake capacities of road/ Improving transport networks is just one of many challenges currently facing India’s ports, which have seen massive swells in the amount of goods transported.
In addition to improving road and rail connections, projects related to port development (construction of jetties, berths, container terminals, deepening of channels to improve draft, etc.), will provide major opportunities for construction firms

India has a vast and complex road network, with over 6.3 million kilometers of roads. The network is made up of national highways, state highways, major district roads, other district roads, and rural roads.

National highways are the most important roads in India. They connect the major cities and towns of the country. State highways connect the state capitals and other important towns within a state. Major district roads connect the district headquarters with other important towns in the district. Other district roads connect the tehsil headquarters with other important towns in the tehsil. Rural roads connect the villages with the tehsil headquarters.

The road network in India is constantly being upgraded and expanded. In recent years, the government has invested heavily in road construction and maintenance. This has led to a significant improvement in the quality of the roads.

The road network is an essential part of the Indian economy. It facilitates the movement of goods and people, and it helps to promote economic growth. The road network also plays an important role in social and Cultural Development. It helps to connect people from different parts of the country, and it promotes cultural exchange.

The road network in India is facing a number of challenges. One of the biggest challenges is the increasing traffic congestion. The number of vehicles on the roads is increasing rapidly, and this is leading to traffic jams and pollution. Another challenge is the poor condition of some of the roads. Many roads are in need of repair, and this can lead to accidents.

The government is taking steps to address the challenges facing the road network. It is investing in road construction and maintenance, and it is also working to improve traffic management. The government is also working to promote public transportation, which can help to reduce traffic congestion.

The road network in India is a vital part of the country’s infrastructure. It is essential for economic growth and social development. The government is committed to improving the road network, and it is working to address the challenges facing it.

Road transport is the most important mode of transport in India. It accounts for over 60% of the total passenger traffic and over 40% of the total freight traffic. The road transport sector is growing rapidly, and it is expected to continue to grow in the coming years.

The road transport sector is made up of a variety of sub-sectors, including passenger transport, goods transport, and Logistics. Passenger transport is the largest sub-sector, accounting for over 50% of the total road transport traffic. Goods transport is the second largest sub-sector, accounting for over 40% of the total road transport traffic. Logistics is the smallest sub-sector, accounting for less than 10% of the total road transport traffic.

The road transport sector is a major contributor to the Indian economy. It generates EMPLOYMENT for millions of people, and it contributes to the country’s GDP. The road transport sector is also a major source of revenue for the government.

The road transport sector is facing a number of challenges, including congestion, pollution, and accidents. Congestion is a major problem in major cities, and it is leading to delays and increased pollution. Pollution is a major problem in the road transport sector, and it is leading to health problems for people living in urban areas. Accidents are a major problem in the road transport sector, and they are leading to deaths and injuries.

The government is taking steps to address the challenges facing the road transport sector. It is investing in infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, and it is also working to improve safety. The government is also working to promote public transportation, which can help to reduce congestion and pollution.

The road transport sector is a vital part of the Indian economy. It is essential for economic growth and social development. The government is committed to improving the road transport sector, and it is working to address the challenges facing it.

Road safety is a major concern in India. The country has one of the highest road accident rates in the world. In 2016, there were over 400,000 road accidents in India, and over 150,000 people were killed.

There are a number of factors that contribute to the high road accident rate in India. These include poor road conditions, reckless driving, and the use of alcohol and drugs while driving.

The government is taking steps to improve road safety in India. It has launched a number of initiatives, such as the “Safe Road Campaign” and the “Road Safety Week”. The government has also enacted a number of laws to improve road safety, such as the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

Despite the government’s efforts, the road accident rate in India remains high. There is a need for more awareness about road safety, and for stricter enforcement of the law.

What are the different types of roads in India?

There are four types of roads in India: national highways, state highways, major district roads, and rural roads. National highways are the most important roads in the country and connect major cities and towns. State highways connect important towns and cities within a state. Major district roads connect important towns and villages within a district. Rural roads connect villages to each other and to the main road network.

What is the total length of roads in India?

The total length of roads in India is 5.64 lakh kilometers (3.51 lakh miles). Of this, national highways account for 1.61 lakh kilometers (1.00 lakh miles), state highways account for 1.92 lakh kilometers (1.19 lakh miles), major district roads account for 1.11 lakh kilometers (0.69 lakh miles), and rural roads account for 1.0 lakh kilometers (0.62 lakh miles).

What is the condition of roads in India?

The condition of roads in India varies from state to state. Some states have good roads, while others have poor roads. The condition of roads is also affected by the weather. In the rainy season, many roads become muddy and difficult to drive on.

What are the problems with roads in India?

The main problems with roads in India are potholes, traffic congestion, and accidents. Potholes are a major problem on many roads, especially in rural areas. They can cause accidents and damage vehicles. Traffic congestion is a problem in major cities and towns. It can cause delays and make it difficult to get around. Accidents are a major problem on Indian roads. They are caused by a number of factors, including poor road conditions, reckless driving, and drunk driving.

What are the solutions to the problems with roads in India?

The government is taking steps to improve the condition of roads in India. It is repairing potholes, widening roads, and building new roads. The government is also working to reduce traffic congestion and accidents. It is building flyovers and underpasses, and it is enforcing traffic laws.

What are the benefits of good roads?

Good roads have a number of benefits. They improve connectivity, reduce travel time, and boost economic activity. They also make it easier for people to get around and access essential services.

What are the costs of good roads?

The cost of building and maintaining good roads is high. However, the benefits of good roads far outweigh the costs. Good roads are an essential investment in the future of India.

Sure. Here are some MCQs on the following topics:

Roads
Which of the following is not a type of road?
(A) National Highway
(B) State Highway
(C) Major District Road
(D) Local Road
The maximum speed limit for cars on a national highway is:
(A) 100 km/h
(B) 120 km/h
(C) 140 km/h
(D) 160 km/h
The minimum speed limit for cars on a national highway is:
(A) 40 km/h
(B) 50 km/h
(C) 60 km/h
(D) 70 km/h
The maximum speed limit for trucks on a national highway is:
(A) 80 km/h
(B) 90 km/h
(C) 100 km/h
(D) 110 km/h
The minimum speed limit for trucks on a national highway is:
(A) 30 km/h
(B) 40 km/h
(C) 50 km/h
(D) 60 km/h
Transport
Which of the following is not a mode of transport?
(A) Road
(B) Rail
(C) Air
(D) Water
The most common mode of transport in India is:
(A) Road
(B) Rail
(C) Air
(D) Water
The fastest mode of transport in India is:
(A) Road
(B) Rail
(C) Air
(D) Water
The most expensive mode of transport in India is:
(A) Road
(B) Rail
(C) Air
(D) Water
The most affordable mode of transport in India is:
(A) Road
(B) Rail
(C) Air
(D) Water

I hope these MCQs are helpful!