Question

What are the four means of transport?

Answer 1

Hint: Transportation refers to the movement of goods and persons from one place to another by various means. The need for transportation grew with the growth of settlements and large quantities of goods or numbers of people over long distances at high speeds in comfort and safety.

Complete answer: The different means of transportation include land transport (roadways and railways), water transport (inland and marine) and air transport.
-Roadways are the most important means of transportation in India. India has the second-largest networks of roads in the world after the USA with a total length of about 58.97 lakh km as of 2017. The density of road networks in India is about 1.80 km of road per sq. km which is substantially higher than the USA, China, Brazil and Russia. About 85% of passengers and 70% of freight traffic are carried by roads every year.
-India’s national railway system operated by the Government of India is the third-largest railway system in the world by size. The total route length of the Indian Railways is 68,155 km and it carries 844 crore passengers and 123 crore tonnes of freight traffic every year as of 2019.
-India is blessed with a vast network of waterways in the form of rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks and a long coastline accessible through the seas and oceans. The country has 14500 km of inland waterways which the Inland Waterways Authority of India has divided into 111 National Waterways. To utilise its long 7517 km of coastline, India has one of the largest fleets of merchant shipping ranking 19th in the world.
-Air Transport is the fastest mode of transportation and it is also substantially more expensive than other means of transportation. India has the third-largest civil aviation market in the world. The recorded air traffic in India was 13 crore passengers in 2016, of which 10 crores were domestic passengers.

Note: A well-connected transportation network reduces the distances travelled to reach destinations and increases the options for routes of travel, however, it has to be made accessible to all so that everyone can benefit and thus increase connectivity.