Development and Patterns of Transport Networks – Geography – UGC NET – Notes

Introduction

• Transport contributes significantly to our socio-economic needs. Transport industry has acquired a fundamental place in the global network system by facilitating mobility of persons and goods from one place to another through various modes of transportation.
• The development of tourism depends on the transport industry. A tourist always thinks of safe, comfortable and convenient mode of transport. And of course, costs and time are also important considerations while deciding on the mode of travel. Here lies the challenge before the transport industry to attract the tourist by offering suitable means of travel as per their requirements.
• Indian geography represents a multipurpose transport network. Highways, railways, airways, and waterways feature as its predominant transportation networks in India to ferry goods and people in, around, and across the country.
• In fact, transport is a pivotal means to connect people and services located far off places. Or else put it, transport in India is a boon which caters to socio-cultural and economic exchanges between its various states, union territories, and international borders.

Development of Means of Transport

• From the advent of human civilisation, the means of transport have been changing according to changed conditions and the development of technology. The propulsive means used were mainly animals on land and sails at sea.
• The discovery and application of steam and electricity in the 19th century and the internal combustion engine in the 20th century revolutionised travel and transport and introduced the present era of mass transport.
• The next spectacular breakthrough came in the late 1950 with the propulsion of aircrafts with jet engines opening to the whole world the immense benefits of air travel.  

Let us have a brief look at the development of transport system in India. This can be broadly divided as:

• Pre-Colonial Period,
• Colonial Period, and
• Post Independence Era

Pre-Colonial Period

• The Indian transport industry dates back to ancient days wherein trade routes linked several rural and urban centres to ports and markets in the country. Historians have tried to establish a link between caves, rock art and travel. Many caves were on the ancient trade routes in India.
• The town plans of Harappa and Mohanjodaro indicate well-planned roads in townships for transport purposes. This trend continued until the end of the Mughal period. For example, the famous Grand Trunk road was laid during the reign of Sher Shah Suri.

Colonial Period

• Road transport and sea ports continued to be developed during the British rule in India. A network of roads was built up by the colonial regime. This was done to link the ports with the hinterland to carry raw materials from India and Europe and import finished products from the European continent for Indian markets.
• Railway emerged in 1854 to further supplement this network besides quick movement of troops and police to cater to the administrative requirements. The first scheduled air service started in 1932 and continued to be symbolic for many years.

Post Independence Era

• The priorities changed after independence. Rehabilitation of the railways and reconstruction of highways damaged or neglected during the second world war and rebuilding the transport network to cater to the developmental needs of the economy and society became matters of prime concern.
• Attention was also paid to the development of sea, air and other modes of transport. From merely fulfilling the administrative needs of the government, today in India, the thrust is for the development of transport to meet the growing demands of society and overall development of the country.
• Despite the implementation of the 5-year plans and the achievement therein, the transport system still finds itself in a state of inadequacy. For example, the transport sector is heavily dependent on foreign technology, capital and loans which have resulted in the slow rate of its development.
• The IATO has been consistently urging upon the government on behalf of its members to liberalise the import of air-conditioned tourist coaches. The growth of various modes of transport has bee, during this period, largely unrelated to each other and thus, failed to develop as a well-integrated multi-model system.
• The investments in this sector have been on the decline in the various plan periods. The total expenditure on transport industry in the first three plans was 23% which came down to 14% in the fourth plan and 12% thereafter.

As on date four major modes of transport are prevalent in India. They are:

• Land Transport
• Rail Transport
• Water Transport
• Air Transport