Question

Describe the growing importance of road transport.

Answer 1

Hint: India has one of the largest road networks in the world, with a total of about 56 lakh km. Roadways have preceded railways in India. In view of the ease with which roadways can be built and maintained, they have an edge over Railways.

Complete step-by-step solution:
There are many means of transport and they are broadly classified into three categories: Land; which includes roads, railways, and pipelines, Water; which includes inland and overseas waterways, and lastly Air; which includes Domestic and International airways. In India, roads are classified into six categories according to their capacity; these are Golden Quadrilateral Super Highways, National Highways, State Highways, District roads, Border roads, and other roads. The growing importance of road transport over railways can be attributed to the following reasons: The construction cost of roads is much lower than that of railway lines. Road transport is economical in transportation over short distances for a few persons and a relatively smaller amount of goods. Roads can traverse mountains such as the Himalayas and as such can negotiate higher gradients of slopes. The cost of loading and unloading is much lower with road transport since it also provides door-to-door service. Road transport is also used as a link to other modes of transport such as between railway stations, airports, and seaports.

Note: The most prominent among all the six types of roads which have reduced time and distance between megacities of Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai are the Golden Quadrilateral Super Highways.