The means through which people or goods can be taken from one place to another is known as communication. With the passage of time India has achieved land mark in communication system.
The communication system can be broadly divided into three groups. :
1. Communication through Land.
2. Communication through Water.
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3. Communication through Air.
1. Communication through land-
It is divided into Road Transport and Railways.
Road Transport-
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In accordance with the maintenance of the roads, can be catagorised into three types.
(i) Rural and Urban Roads-
These roads are built and maintained by District Boards.
(ii) Highway-
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Which connects two or more different towns and is built and maintained by the state government.
(iii) National Highways–
Such types of roads are built and maintained by the govt, of India.
The length of the National Highways in India is 45,000 kilometers
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The total number of National Highways in India is 98.
Some of the important National Highways of India are given below
1. Delhi – Amritsar
2. Delhi – Kolkata
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3. Agra – Mumbai
4. Delhi – Ahmadabad
5. Agra – Bikaner
6. Varanasi – Kanya Kumari
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7. Jorhat – Shillong
NH-7 is the longest National Highway of India which runs from Varanasi to Kanya Kumari.
14,000 kilometer Super Highway is being built in India with the help of Malaysia.
The total length of the National Highway is only 2% of the total lengths of the Indian roads.
Maharashtra has the maximum length of roads.
Railways :
Indian Railway has the first position in Asia and fourth in the world.
The first train in India was run between Mumbai and Thane on 16th April. 1853.
The second train in India was run in 1854 AD between Howrah and Hooghly.
Indian Railway Board was established in 1905.
The Headquarters of Indian Railway is situated in New Delhi.
The Indian Railway was nationalised in 1950 AD.
The first electric train in India ‘Deccan Queen’ was introduced in 1929 between Mumbai and Pune.
Indian Railway is the largest undertaking in the country.
Indian Railway has the second biggest electrified system in the world after Russia.
The fastest train in India is Shatabdi Express (140 km/hour).
The route covered (track length) by Indian Railways is 63,000 kilometers
The total number of railway stations in India is 7,100.
Mughal Sarai is the largest Railway Yard of Indian Railway.
The longest railway platform in India is at Kharagpur (W. B.).
Maximum number of trains from different parts of the country departs for Mumbai.
The “Himsagar Express” has the longest route which covers 3,726 kilometers and pass through ten states.
The second longest train in the country runs between Thiruvananthapuram and Guwahati. It covers the distance of 3,574 km. and passes through six states.
The first Metro Rail was introduced on Oct. 24, 198.4 between Dum Dum and Belgachhia railway stations in Kolkata (W. Bengal).
The longest railway tunnel in India lies in between Mahkil anc Khandala (Central Railways).
Northern Railway is the largest Railway Zone of India which has the rail route of 11,000 kilometers.
North-East Frontier Railway is the smallest Railway Zone which has only 3,860 km. rail route.
Railway staff college is situated at Barodara (Baroda).
Rail Tracks–
Accroding to distance between the rails, there are three systems operating in the country.
(i) Broad Gauge : Distance between rails = 1-67 m
(ii) Metre Gaug : Distance between rails = 100 m
(iii) Narrow Gauge : Distance between rails = 0-762 or 0-610 m
Railway Zones-
For better administrative control of the railway, the whole railway network of the country has been divided into fifteen zones.
Konkan Rail Project (Konkan Railways)-
This is a joint verity the government of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka. Under this project a railway line joining Mumbai and Mangalore (Karnataka) has been laid dc which covers a distance of 786 km.
Railway Manufacturing unit:
1. Chittaranjan Locomotive Works–
It is situated in Chittaranjan. (W. B.). It manufactures electric engines.
2. Diesel Locomotive Works–
Situated at Varanasi and manufacture Diesel engines.
Integral Coach Factory–
Situated at Perambur (Chennai) and manufactures Rail coaches.
Wheel and Axle Plant–
Situated at Yalahaka (Bangalore) and manufactures wheels and axies.
Diesel Component Works-
Situated at Patiala (Punjab) manufactures components of diesel engines.
Rail Coach Factory-
Situated at Kapurthala (Punjab) and manufacture; Rail coaches.
2. Water Transport:
The most cheapest of transportation isthe Water Transport.
In India water transport system is divided into two parts :
(i) Inland water transport and (ii) By sea.
Transportation is carried out through inland water transport within the country while the foreign trade is carried out by sea.
At present India has 14,500 km of navigable water ways.
In 1986, Haldia-Allahabad sector was made national waterways.
The another two national waterways are :
(i) In between Sadia and Durbi-On the river Brahmaputra.
(ii) In between Kollam and Kottapuram.
The fourth national water ways is being developed in the western coast.
Transportation by sea-
By the 90% of the total international trade is carried out by sea.
Cape of the good hope route–
It connects India with South Africa, Western Africa and South America.
Australian route–
This route connects India with Australia.
Suez Canal route–
This route is the shortest one to connect India with Europe. India carries out 75% of its international trade through this route.
Singapur route-
This route connects India to South East Asia and Western America.
There are 11 big and 139 small sea ports in India.
Big sea ports are maintained and controlled by the govt, of India while small ports are managed by the respective state governments.
3. Air Transport:
For the first time in India Air mail service started in 1911 between Allahabad and Naini.
J. R. D. Tata was the first to make a solo flight from Mumbai to Karachi in 1931 AD.
In 1935 the “Tata Airways” started its services between Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram and in 1937 between Mumbai and Delhi.
In 1953 all the private Airline companies were nationalised and Indian Airlines and Air India, the two big Airways companies were established.
Indian Airlines operates domestic stations and neighbouring foreign countries while Air India operates in all the five continents.
Vayudoot Limited started in 1981 as a private air career and later on it merged with Indian Airlines.
Pawan Hans Limited was established in 1985 for the remote hilly areas.
Airport Authority of India Limited is responsible for construction and maintenance of Airports in India.
International Airports–
The International Airports Authority of India Manages the international airports which are given below: