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an amalgam of the rich and the poor; the rural and the urban;
the plains and the mountains; the rivers and seas; India has
different modes of transport. While in cities, the mode of
transport is basically automated such as cars, scooters, buses,
auto rickshaws; in the rural areas people still commute by
bullock carts, horse carts and cycles. In the seas, and the
rivers that are in plenty in India, the major forms of transportation
are boats and ships. In the desert states of Rajasthan and
Gujarat, nothing can beat the ship of the desert, the camel.
There is a well-developed network of trains, trams and aircrafts
that facilitate inter state and international journeys.
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Indian Railroads:
Track route length 62,458 in mid-1990s, fourth most heavily
used system in world, both for passengers and freight; all
government-owned and operated by Indian Railways. Some 14,600
kilometers double or multiple tracked; 11,000 kilometers electrified,
116,000 bridges; some high-speed routes; domestic production
of most rolling stock and other components. Major government
investment in modernization in 1990s. Full metro system in
Calcutta, rapid transit system in Madras & major system
planned for New Delhi; Bombay served by suburban rail network.
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Roads:
Almost 2 million kilometers; 960,000
kilometers surfaced roads, and more than 1 million kilometers
constructed of gravel, crushed stone, or earth. Fifty-three
highways, almost 20,000 kilometers in total length,
rated as national highways; carry about 40 percent of
road traffic. Around 60 percent of all passenger traffic
travels by road. Urban transit dominated by motor vehicles;
increasing use of two- and three-wheel vehicles, automobiles,
minibuses, buses, trucks. Large cities have major urban
bus systems. Bullocks, camels, elephants, and other
beasts of burden seen throughout India.
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Maritime Transport in India:
Eleven major ports and 139 minor ports. In 1995 three
government-owned and between fifty and sixty privately
owned shipping companies. Four major and three medium-sized
shipyards, all government run, thirty-five smaller shipyards
in private sector. Major coastal and ocean trade routes,
more than 16,000 kilometers of inland waterways, more
than 3,600 kilometers navigable by large vessels, although
only about 2,000 kilometers used.
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| Airports
:
Two airlines (Air India and Indian
Airlines) and one helicopter service (Pawan Hans) owned
by government and six privately owned airlines; latter
account for only 10 percent of domestic air traffic.
Of 288 airports, 208 permanent-surface runways and two
runways of more than 3,659 meters. Major international
airports at Bombay (Mumbai), Delhi, Calcutta, Madras,
and Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum). International service
also from Mamargao (Goa), Bangalore, and Hyderabad.
Major regional airports at Ahmadabad, Allahabad, Pune,
Srinagar, Chandigarh, Kochi (Cochin), Nagpur, and Thiruvananthapuram.LoC
1995.
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