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Indian Roadways

Ancient India has highways, caravan and trade routes even to Baluchistan via Iran. Lord Rama travelled on a known route from Ayodya (UP) to Sri Lanka. Buddhist text mentions trunk and other roads of 700 - 185 BC. In Ashoka's time roads led to all Buddhist sites and missionaries were sent as far as Kashmir and the deep south. Later Mughals and the British keep the roads in good condition. New roads are made to remote areas due to military and administrative reasons.

Travel by road is a common choice. India has 33,00,000 km of roads. All major cities in India are linked by National Highways from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. India has 56 National Highways with total length of 34,000 km and the longest is NH 7 (2369 km). State roadways and Private operators run regular bus services in most of the main routes. Luxury cars, imported cars and coaches of international standard can be hired.

World's highest road : Khardung la (5602 m on Leh-Panamik route), Kashmir.

Longest road in India : Grand Trunk Road (Kolkata to Amritsar).

National Highways

1 : Delhi-Ambala-Jalandhar-Amritsar-Waga Pak border : 456 km
2 : Delhi-Mathura-Agra-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi-Palsit-Bar-Kolkata : 1490 km
3 : Agra-Gwalior-Shivpuri-Indore-Dhule-Nasik-Thane-Mumbai : 1161 km
4 : Thane (NH 3)-Pune-Belgaum-Hubli-Bangalore-Ranipet-Chennai : 1235 km
5 : Baharagora (NH 6)-Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar-Vishakhapatnam-Vijaywada-Chennai : 1533 km
6 : Surat-Dhule-Nagpur-Raipur-Sambalpur-Baharagora-Kolkata : 1932 km
7 : Varanasi-Mangawan-Rewa-Jabalpur-Lukhana-Don-Nagpur-Hyderabad-Kurnool-Bangalore- Krishnagiri-Salem-Dindigul-Madurai-Kanyakumari : 2369 km
8 : Delhi-Jaipur-Ajmer-Udaipur-Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Mumbai : 1428 km
9 : Pune-Sholapur-Hyderabad-Vijaywada : 791 km
10 : Delhi-Fazilka-Pak border : 403 km
11 : Agra-Jaipur-Bikaner : 582 km
12 : Jabalpur-Bhopal-Khilchipur-Aklera-Jhalwar-Kota-Bundi-Devil-Tonk-Jaipur : 890 km
13 : Sholapur-Chitradurga : 491 km
14 : Bewar-Sirohi-Radhanpur : 450 km
15 : Pathankot-Amritsar-Bhatinda-Ganganagar-Bikaner-Jaisalmer-Barmar-Samakhiali : 1526 km
16 : Nizamabad-Mancheri-Jagadalpur : 460 km
17 : Panvel-Mahad-Panaji-Karwar-Mangalore-Kannur-Kozhikode-Kuttipuram-Edapally near Kochi (NH 47) : 1269 km
18 : Kurnool (NH 7)-Nandyal-Cuddapah-Chittoor (NH 4) : 369 km
19 : Ghazipur-Balia-Patna : 240 km
20 : Pathankot-Mandi : 220 km
21 : Chandigarh (NH 22)-Ropar-Bilaspur-Mandi-Kullu-Manali : 323 km
22 : Ambala-Kalka-Shimla-Narkanda-Rampur-Shipki la, China border : 459 km
23 : Chas-Ranchi-Rourkela-Talhar (NH 42) : 459 km
24 : Delhi-Bareilly-Lucknow : 418 km
25 : Lucknow-Kanpur-Jhansi-Shivpuri : 319 km
26 : Jhansi-Lakhandon : 396 km
27 : Allahabad-Mangawan : 93 km
28 : Barauni (NH 31)-Muzzafarpur-Pipra-Gorakhpur-Lucknow : 570 km
29 : Gorakhpur-Ghazipur-Varanasi : 730 km
30 : Mohania (NH 2)-Patna- Bachtivarpur : 230 km
31 : Bahri (NH 2)-Bakhtiarpur-Mokameh-Purnea-Dalkota-Siliguri-Sivok-Cooch Behar-North Salmara-Nalbari-Charali Amingaon (NH 37) : 1125 km
32 : Gobindpur (NH 2)-Dhanbad-Jamshedpur : 179 km
33 : Barhi (NH 2)-Ranchi-Baharagora : 352 km
34 : Dalkoa-Berhampur-Barasat-Kolkatta : 443 km
35 : Barasat-Bangaon-Bangladesh border : 61 km
36 : Nowgong-Dabaka-Dimapur : 170 km
37 : Golapara (NH 31 B)-Guwahati-Jorhat-Kamargaon-Makaum-Saikhoaghat : 680 km
38 : Makum-Ledo-Lekhapani : 54 km
39 : Numaligarh-Imphal-Palei-Myanmar border : 436 km
40 : Jorhat-Shillong-Dawki, Bangladesh border : 161 km
41 : Kolaghat (NH 6)-Haldia port : 511 km
42 : Sambhalpur (NH 6)-Angul (NH 5) near Cuttack : 261 km
43 : Raipur-Vizianagaram (NH 5) : 551 km
44 : Shillong-Passi Badarpur-Agartala-Sabroom : 630 km
45 : Chennai-Tiruchirapalli-Dindigul : 387 km
46 : Krishnagiri-Ranipet : 132 km
47 : Salem-Coimbatore-Trissur-Ernakulam-Kollam-Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari : 640 km
48 : Bangalore-Hassan-Mangalore : 328 km
49 : Kochi-Madurai-Dhanushkodi : 440 km
50 : Nashik-Pune (NH 4) : 192 km
51 : Paikan-Tura-Dalu : 149 km
52 : Baihata-Charali-Tezpur-Bander-Dewa-North Lakhimpur-Pasighat-Tezu-Sitapani (NH 37) : 850 km
53 : Badarpur (NH 44)-Jirighat-Imphal-Silchar : 320 km
54 : Silchar-Aizwal-Tuipang : 560 km
55 : Siliguri-Darjeeling : 77 km
56 : Lucknow-Varanasi : 285 km

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Indian Airways

Travelling in air find place in almost all Hindu epics. The Mahabharata and Ramayana speak a number of times about some sort of an aircraft (Vimana).

The first service carrying mail from London was operated by Puss Moth and flown from Karachi to Bombay. The inaugural commercial air service between London and Delhi was flown by De Havill in 66 Hercules on 30th Dec 1929. This flight made 29 stops during the 12 day flight (flying time of 56 hour 40 minute).

Indian Airlines, private scheduled airlines and air taxis provide domestic air services. Air India and other foreign airlines provides international service. Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd runs helos to ONGC shore operations, Arunachal Pradesh and to inaccessible areas and difficult terrain.

Air India : In July 1946 TATA Airlines were converted into a public limited company under the name Air India. In 1953, it was declared as the National carrier. India has bilateral air service with around 100 countries and carries more than 3 million passengers a year (www.airindia.com).

Indian Airlines provides service to 14 neighbouring countries. It operates over 72 destinations including 16 abroad. There is 50 % concession for Armed forces personnel, Senior citizens, blind, cancer patients and students for domestic travel. Different unlimited travel plans are also available for tourists.

The four main International airports are at New Delhi (www.delhiairport.com), Kolkata, Mumbai (www.mumbaiairport.com) and Chennai (www.chennaiairport.com). For details visit www.indianairports.com

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Distances from the Airport to the city in km

Agra 7
Ahmedabad 10
Amritsar 11
Aurangabad 10
Bagdogra 14
Bangalore 13
Belgaum 14
Bhavnagar 5
Bhopal 11
Bhubaneshwar 4
Mumbai 26
Kolkatta 16
Chandigarh 11
Jaipur 15
Jodhpur 5
Jorhat 6
Keshod 3
Khajuraho 5
Leh 8
Lucknow 15
Madurai 12
Chennai 16
Nagpur 10
Patna 7
Porbandar 4
Port Blair 4
Kochi 28
Coimbatore 23
Dabolim (Goa) 30
Delhi 13
Gorakhpur 7
Guwahati 22
Gwalior 12
Indore 9
Jabalpur 15
Pune 8
Srinagar 14
Trichy 8
Thiruvananthapuram 7
Udaipur 24
Varanasi 22
Visakhapatnam 14

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Indian Railways

East India Company can be considered as the pioneer of the Indian Railways and Lord Dalhousie for laying the foundation of rail transport in India. In 1853 the Great India Peninsular Co. built the first line of 33.6 km from Mumbai to Thane.

Currently the Indian railway is the second largest railway system in the world and also the biggest employer. India has 543,760 km of railway line with 6985 stations and over 11,275 locomotives (trains per day). 29% of the total track length is electrified and is second biggest electrified railway system in the world after Russia.

The three type of lines are Broad Gauge (1676 mm) 41,791 km, Meter Gauge (1000 mm) 17,044 km, Narrow Gauge (762 mm and 610 mm) 3,710 km.

First train in India (also in Asia) : 16 April, 1853 between Mumbai and Thane (32 km). Steam engine use coal and is running only few heritage routes. Diesel locomotives run on Diesel and was introduced in 1957. Electric locomotives were introduced in 1929. First electric train in India was Deccan Queen, introduced in 1929 between Kalyan and Thane.

Indian Railway has nine administrative zones - Central Railway (CST, Mumbai), Eastern Railway (Kolkata), Northern Railway (New Delhi), North Eastern Railway (Gorakhpur), North East Frontier (Maligaon in Guwahati), Southern Railway (Chennai), South central Railway (Secunderabad), South Eastern Railway (Kolkata) and Western Railway (Churchgate, Mumbai).

Indrail pass : It allows foreign visitors to travel anywhere in India by train within the period of validity (1 to 90 day). For train timings and reservation of tickets Indian Railways

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High Speed trains

Rajdhani Express : Rajdhani Express trains were introduced in 1969 and they operate at the speed of 130 kmph. Rajdhani Express runs from Delhi to Howrah, Mumbai, Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati, Patna, Chennai, Secunderabad, Jammu Tavi, Ahmedabad and back to Delhi.

Shatabdi Express : Shatabdi Express trains were introduced in 1988 and they operate at the speed of 140 kmph. Shatabdi Express routes are Delhi to Bhopal, Lucknow, Kalka, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Amritsar, Ajmer and back. Chennai to Mysore, Coimbatore and Tirupati, Mumbai to Ahmedabad and Pune, Howrah to Bokaro city and Rourkela, Rajahmundry to Secundrabad and back.

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Luxury trains

The Palace on Wheels : Highly decorated palace like train running in Rajasthan tourist circuit.

The Royal Orient : The luxury train runs in Gujarat tourist circuit.

Shivalik Deluxe : The luxury train has amenity fittings that match the modern times. It runs from Delhi to Shimla with a single stop at Barog. The train has a sitting capacity of 120 and the journey time is 4 hour 45 minute. The train has wall to wall carpet, wide glass windows, reversible cushioned chairs, improved toilet facilities, cabin for couple, table for meals, tube lights, music system, micro phone for communication with the guard etc.

Shivalik Palace : It runs for the elite class of tourists in Kalka- Shimla route. The train has onboard catering, decorative lights, musical cordless bell, music system, variety of indoor games, magazines and books for reading, modern bathroom, dining table with cushioned chair.

Fairy Queen : Built in 1855, this 153 year old pristine beauty, the oldest working steam engine in the world runs a two day trip from Delhi to Alwar on selected days. It departs from Delhi Cant. station at 10 am with 50 passengers for an unforgettable journey.

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The toy trains of India

Shimla (2221 m) : The toy train from Kalka to Shimla is through 107 tunnels and lofty arched bridges. The train covers the 96 km in 5 hour.

Ooty (2193 m) : From Mettupalayam (326 m) near Coimbatore, the toy train starts its journey at 33 kmph. The narrow gauge route has 16 tunnels, 31 bridges and tall girder bridges. The train treks across plains, plantations and forest clad hills giving a breathtaking view. The train runs from 1899 on the 46 km long route in 4.5 hour.

Darjeeling (2134 m) : The most famous toy train (in UNESCO's world heritage list) runs from New Jalpaiguri in 7.5 hour. The 86 km route to Darjeeling offers panoramic view of the Himalayas.

Matheran (768 m) : A car free hill station near Neral (39 m) on Mumbai - Pune rail route, narrow gauge toy train connects Neral with Matheran (13 km, 6 hour) and 30 min. by Taxi.

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Konkan Railway : The 760 km long scenic sojourn is an adventure on rails. The route connects Roha (near Mumbai) to Mangalore. The construction completed on 26 Jan 1998 after a 8 year long period. The route is over formidable terrain with 179 major bridges, 1819 minor bridges, 92 tunnels (aggregate length of 84 km). The longest bridge (2.065 km) on the route is over river Sharavati near Honavar. The tallest viaduct is near Panval Nanadi near Ratnagiri with a height of 64 m. The longest tunnel (6.5 km) is at Karbude near Ratnagiri.

The modern track has concrete sleepers and the trains can run at even 160 kmph. Of the 59, the important stations are Veer, Khed, Chiplun, Ratnagiri, Rajapur road, Kankavali, Sawantwadi, Thivim, Karmali, Verna, Madgaon, Karwar, Kumta, Bhatkal, Udipi and Surathkal. This route reduces the travel time from Mumbai to Goa (10 hour), Mangalore (26 hour) and Kochi (12 hour) by train.

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Indian Waterways

Mohenjodaro, the site of Indus Valley civilisation had found with a two masted ship. Rig Veda has refernce to ships. Naval expeditions and merchants praying to sea before starting the voyage were common in old times. King Vijaya (56-48 BC) went to Sri Lanka with horses and elephants crossing the sea is depicted in Ajanta fresco.

Under Akbar big ships and boats were built. During Mughal times shipping and internal navigation had a department of its own. According to 15th century traveller, Nicoli Conti, Indian ships were longer than the Italian ones. Kozhikode was the greatest shipbuilding centre and executed even foreign orders.

Inland water system : It provides transport and communication for the common man. The three National waterways are Allahabad-Haldia on Ganga Bhagirath-Hooghly river (1620 km, NW 1), Sadiya-Dhubri Bangladesh border (891 km, NW 2) on Brahmaputra river, Kollam-Kottapuram (168 km), Champakara canal (14 km), Udyogamandal canal (23 km) and stretch of the west coast canal were declared as National Waterways number 3.

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Ports in India

About 1000 BC, from Ophir (Sopara, near Mumbai) goodes were taken for Hiram, king of Tyre in his ships. About 25 BC, ports like Bharakachha (Broach), Muzris (Kodangallur), Poduca (Pondicherry), saptanea (Chennai), Puhar, Tamarlipti were well known and traded with Greece, Rome, west Asia and Gulf countries. In 17 th century KOzhikode and Kochi were become important ports of trade with Europe, Iran and other Gulf countries.

India has 6100 km of coastline and 11 major ports apart from 139 minor ports.

1. Mumbai, Arabian Sea, natural and biggest port, handles one fifth of the total traffic, major naval base.
2. Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Arabian Sea, newly opened port.
3. Kochi, Arabian Sea, largest natural harbour.
4. Kandla, Arabian Sea-Gulf of Kutch, tidal port.
5. Mormugoa, Arabian Sea, second largest port.
6. Mangalore, Arabian Sea, a tidal port.
7. Chennai, Bay of Bengal, oldest port and largest artificial habour.
8. Tuticorin, Indian Ocean, shallow port.
9. Visakhapatnam, Bay of Bengal, deepest protected port, major naval base.
10. Paradeep, Bay of Bengal, newly opened port.
11. Kolkata, Bay of Bengal On Hooghly river, the biggest terminal port of South Asia.

The four major shipyards are Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineering Ltd Kolkata, Mazagaon dock Ltd Mumbai, Hindustan Shipyard Ltd Visakhapatnam, Cochin Shipyard Kochi. In addition there are 32 small shipping yards in private sector.