Transport System in India
The most important means of transportation in a country are roads, railways, airways, and waterways. India has completely revolutionized its transportation system, both external and internal.
Rail Transport
Railways are the most important means of transportation in India. The improvement in railway communications in recent times has played a most important part in the internal development of the country. They have brought the different parts of the country closer.
The advent of the railway has been of special advantage to the peasantry. Social and political influences from railway construction have been no less.
Advantages of Railways
- Travelling has become cheaper;
- Defense of the country is less difficult.
- Greater peace and order is maintained in the country, and
- The spirit of nationalism has very greatly developed.
Road Transport
India has a vast network of roads, both metalled and unmetalled. However, this means of transport and communication are still inadequate for our needs. The vehicles that are mainly used on village roads are motorbuses, trucks, and bullock carts.
Before the advent of railways, roads were the only means of communication for the exportation of surplus produce. With the extension of the railway system, it has become more and more necessary to construct roads to feed the railways.
At present, the economic loss caused by the inaccessibility of many agricultural districts in the rainy season is very great. In sandy, hilly, and forest-covered tracts and in other parts of the country, where railways have not penetrated, road transport still holds an important share of long-distance traffic.
The opening of railways has created a demand for road-construction, which must be met by the local and provincial bodies. The question of developing the roads is also of vital importance. We cannot expect any significant progress in our rural economy unless there are good road connections between villages and towns.
Waterways
Water transport is the oldest and cheapest form of transport. It is one of the most important external and internal means of transport in all the civilized countries of the world. It is useful for the carriage of bulky and heavy goods.
In India, we have many great river systems. However, they are unevenly distributed, some of them are fully utilized for irrigation purposes, and some others are naturally unfit for navigation.
In some parts of India, however, waterways are still extensively used for navigation purposes.
In India, more navigable rivers and canals should be made. And, a systematic policy for the development of the inland water transport should be pursued.
The question of shipping has also great importance in a country like India with a large coastline.
Air Transport System
Proper attention must also be given at the same time to air transport as another means of national and international communication. India possesses some natural advantages in this respect and they have to be fully exploited for development of airways.
The Government is taking a keen interest in the expansion of civil aviation not only for its importance as a means of transport but also because of its strategic value in the matter of national defense. There are also a large number of aerodromes in the country.
Also read: Aviation Industry in India: History, Growth, Challenges, FDI and Future
Conclusion
An analytic study of the above facts justifies the conclusion that the transport system of India is making good progress. The Government is providing all reasonable facilities for the development of the country’s transport. It is for the people to take advantage of the facilities offered and to step up the country’s progress in the way we desire. Millions of tons of raw materials and finished goods have to be transported over long distances and in the absence of transport facilities there will be bottlenecks in the transport of goods leading to undesirable consequences.