Geography of Transport Development in India

THIS BOOK EXAMINES the various aspects of road and rail transport in India with regard to their geographical significance for the region. Based on recent statistics, it aims to provide the background for a better understanding of transport development in India, and guidelines for planners, geographers, economists and policy makers involved in the field of transportation, as well as all researchers, teachers and students who work in the branch of transport geography.
The 29 contributions are organized into three main sections. Chapters 1–5 evaluate the Indian transport system in terms of road transport, railway transport, road network and social interface, railway freight rate and the emergence of express highways between large cities. Chapters 6–12 examine the features of the transport system in seven metropolitan cities of India, namely Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Madurai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune, and provide comprehensive transport plans of the area. They discuss the issues at stake (such as traffic congestion, pollution, state and private transport services, the impact of a transport system on city resource development etc.), and give some suggestions as to the means to address them. Chapters 13–29 provide a series of studies on the regional transport system at state, district and sub-district levels from diverse perspectives, ranging from spatial variation in road transport to the impact of the transport network on tourism, or the development of nearby rural areas.
Together, the different analyses argue for improved linkages between nodes, junctions, industrial sites and ports, by showing the importance of effective and reliable means of transport at the local level to allow progress in all productive sectors of the economy and an improvement in resource availability and human welfare.