India- Part 5: Transportation

1. Water transportation

     a. Closest Major Ocean Ports
           India has 12 major seaports – which each handles 400+ million tons annually – and 14 intermediate seaports. The state of Maharashtra has the most major seaports (4 of the 12) and the state of Gujarat has most of the intermediates seaports (6 of the 14). Nine of India's seaports face the Bay of Bengal and the other seventeen face the Arabian Sea. Visakhapatnam is the largest port in India as well as the 3rd largest city on the East coast of India. Seaports in India are a major component in transportation since a third of the country is surrounded by water.

 
2. Land transportation

     a. railroad (freight, passengers)

         India has the largest railroad system in asia: 14.3 thousand train run daily. (7 thousand of the 14.3 thousand are passenger trains.)  The reason behind the that large number of trains is because trains are an integral part of transportation within the country: about 13 million people ride on trains daily and 1.3 million tonnes are moved.
 

     b. highway and road network

          Highways make-up around 2% of the total road network (3.34 million km) in India; the total distance of all Indian highways is 70,548 km. Currently the government is expending large sums of money to improve the road system, since majority of the roads in lesser developed states are dirt or poorly maintained. Rickshaws, cars, scooters, and busses are the main form of transportation in cities; on the other hand bikes/scooters and carts pulled by animals are the main form of transportation in villages.

3. Air transportation

     India has over 20 international airports and over 335 civilian airpots. Some of the major airpots of India are the Chattrapati Shivaji International Airport of Mumbai, Mumbai International Airport, and the Indira Gandhi International Airport of New Delhi. Air transportation is important in India considering the topography of the land (mountains, deserts, valleys, and etc.). Also because the population continues to grow at a considerable rates, people tend to move out of the country in search of education or jobs.






http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/sea-ports.htm
http://www.facts-about-india.com/indian-railway-facts.phphttp://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/national-highway.htm
http://morth.nic.in/writereaddata/sublinkimages/overview_NH3244795788.htm
http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/airportmaps.htm