Highways, Railways, Ports and Waterways of India
Transport is the lifeline of a country's economy, and India has one of the largest transport networks in the world. Roads, railways, ports, waterways, airways and pipelines together move people, raw materials and finished goods across the country. In examinations the transport chapter is mostly about records, firsts and extremes, so the best way to prepare is to remember the "longest, first, largest and oldest" facts and to keep the Indian and Assam-specific names side by side.
Roads and National Highways
India has the second largest road network in the world, with a total length of about 63 lakh kilometres. National Highways (NH) form only about 2 per cent of the total road length but carry around 40 per cent of the road traffic. The longest National Highway of India is NH-44, which runs for about 3,745 kilometres from Srinagar to Kanyakumari; it was formed by merging several older highways such as the old NH-1A, NH-1, NH-2 and NH-3. The Golden Quadrilateral is the highway network that connects Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata and is about 5,846 kilometres long. The North-South Corridor links Srinagar with Kanyakumari and the East-West Corridor links Silchar with Porbandar. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was created in 1988 to develop and manage the national highways, and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), set up in 1960, builds strategic roads in the border areas.
Railways
Indian Railways is one of the largest railway networks in the world, with about 68,000 route kilometres. The first train in India ran on 16 April 1853 between Bori Bunder (Mumbai) and Thane, covering about 34 kilometres. Indian Railways now has 18 zones (along with the Kolkata Metro) and 68 divisions, and the Northern Railway is the longest zone. The North-East Frontier Railway (NFR), with its headquarters at Maligaon, Guwahati, covers the whole North-East. The longest railway platform in India is at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, while the world's longest platform is at Hubballi in Karnataka. The Pir Panjal railway tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir, about 11.2 kilometres long, is the longest railway tunnel of India, and the busiest railway station is Howrah. In Assam the first railway station was Dibrugarh, opened in 1882. The Saraighat Bridge (1962) was the first rail-cum-road bridge over the Brahmaputra at Guwahati, and the Bogibeel Bridge (2018), about 4.94 kilometres long, is the longest rail-cum-road bridge of India.
Ports and Shipping
India has 13 major ports, which handle most of the country's foreign trade. Mumbai Port and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Sheva) are the largest, and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port is the largest container port. The Kolkata port is the oldest major port of India and the only major riverine port. The Visakhapatnam port is the deepest port, while Kandla (Deendayal) in the Gulf of Kachchh is a tidal port and the westernmost. The southernmost major port is Tuticorin (V.O. Chidambaranar) in Tamil Nadu, and the easternmost ports are Kolkata and Paradip. The newest major port is Vadhavan in Maharashtra. The North-East has no major port, and the nearest one is Kolkata.
Inland Waterways
The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) was established in 1986 to develop and regulate the national waterways. National Waterway 1 (NW-1) is the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system, running about 1,620 kilometres from Haldia to Prayagraj, and it is the longest national waterway. National Waterway 2 (NW-2) is the Brahmaputra river from Sadiya to Dhubri, which is very important for Assam. National Waterway 3 (NW-3) is the West Coast Canal in Kerala, and NW-6 is the Barak river. India now has about 111 national waterways, and the largest river port is Kolkata on the Hooghly.
Air Transport and Pipelines
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) was set up in 1995 to manage the country's civil aviation infrastructure. The UDAN scheme (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik), launched in 2016, aims to make air travel affordable for the common people by connecting small towns. Guwahati's Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport at Borjhar is the main airport of the North-East. Pipelines are used to carry crude oil, petroleum products and natural gas; the Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur (HVJ) pipeline is a well-known example, and Assam's oil is carried through pipelines towards Barauni and beyond.
Quick revision
For quick revision, remember the road facts first - the road network is the second largest in the world, NH-44 from Srinagar to Kanyakumari is the longest highway, and the Golden Quadrilateral joins Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. Next fix the railway facts - the first train ran in 1853 from Mumbai to Thane, the Northern Railway is the longest zone, the NFR is headquartered at Maligaon, and the Pir Panjal tunnel is the longest rail tunnel. Then learn the ports - 13 major ports, Kolkata the oldest and only riverine one, Visakhapatnam the deepest and Jawaharlal Nehru Port the largest container port. Finally remember the waterways - NW-1 is the Ganga system, NW-2 is the Brahmaputra and the IWAI was set up in 1986.
How to prepare this topic
- Make a table of national highways and their routes, starting with NH-44 (Srinagar-Kanyakumari) and the Golden Quadrilateral.
- Learn the railway firsts and extremes: 1853 Mumbai-Thane first train, Northern Railway the longest zone, Gorakhpur the longest platform and Pir Panjal the longest tunnel.
- Keep the North-East facts ready: first Assam station Dibrugarh 1882, NFR headquarters Maligaon, and the Bogibeel Bridge.
- For ports, group them by direction - westernmost Kandla, southernmost Tuticorin, deepest Visakhapatnam, largest container JNPT and oldest Kolkata.
- For waterways, remember NW-1 the Ganga, NW-2 the Brahmaputra, NW-3 the West Coast Canal and the IWAI year 1986.
Common exam traps
- The longest National Highway is NH-44 (Srinagar-Kanyakumari), not the old NH-7.
- The first train in India ran in 1853 between Mumbai and Thane, not in Kolkata.
- Kolkata is the oldest major port and the only major riverine port; Visakhapatnam is the deepest.
- National Waterway 2 is the Brahmaputra, while National Waterway 1 is the Ganga system.
- The North-East has no major port; the NFR headquarters is at Maligaon, not Guwahati city centre.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the longest National Highway of India and what is its length?
The longest National Highway of India is NH-44, which runs for about 3,745 kilometres from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. It was formed by merging several older highways such as the old NH-1A, NH-1, NH-2 and NH-3, and it passes through many states of northern, central and southern India.
When and between which places did the first train run in India?
The first train in India ran on 16 April 1853 between Bori Bunder in Mumbai and Thane, covering a distance of about 34 kilometres. In Assam the first railway station was Dibrugarh, opened in 1882, and the North-East Frontier Railway with its headquarters at Maligaon, Guwahati, now covers the whole region.
Which is the longest national waterway and what is National Waterway 2?
The longest national waterway is National Waterway 1 (NW-1), the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system, which is about 1,620 kilometres long and runs from Haldia to Prayagraj. National Waterway 2 (NW-2) is the Brahmaputra river from Sadiya to Dhubri, which is the most important waterway for Assam. The Inland Waterways Authority of India regulates them.
Which are the oldest, deepest and largest container ports of India?
The Kolkata port is the oldest major port of India and the only major riverine port. The Visakhapatnam port is the deepest port of India. The largest container port of India is the Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Sheva) near Mumbai. India has 13 major ports in total, and there is no major port in the North-East.
What is the North-East Frontier Railway and where is its headquarters?
The North-East Frontier Railway (NFR) is the railway zone that covers the whole of North-East India. Its headquarters is at Maligaon in Guwahati, Assam. The Saraighat Bridge at Guwahati was the first rail-cum-road bridge over the Brahmaputra, and the Bogibeel Bridge in Assam is the longest rail-cum-road bridge of India.