CHAPTER 1

1. Importance of Transportation
Role of Transportation
Transportation contributes to the economic, industrial, social and cultural development of
any country. Transportation is vital for the economic development of any region since every
commodity produced whether it is food, clothing, industrial products or medicine needs
transport at all stages from production to distribution. In production stage, transportation us
required for carrying raw materials like seeds, manure etc and in distribution stage
transportation is required from production centers. The adequacy of transportation system of
a country indicates its economic and social development.
Economic Activity and Transport
The economic activities are the processes by means of which the products are utilized to
satisfy human needs. Two important factors in economic activity are(i)
(ii)

Production or supply
Consumption for human wants or demand

Hence, with increased productivity and its efficient transportation can lower the cost of the
products. Transportation cost is always an influencing factor on consumer price of
commodities.
Social effects of transportation
Sectionalism and transportation- Improved transportation has resulted in reduction of
sectionalism within the country and also outside the country. Under-developed colonies are
improving their living conditions since the distance have been reduced with reduction in
travel time. With more frequent travels tend to increase knowledge of the people from other
sections of the society.
Concentration of population into urban area- The prosperity and employment opportunities
of urban area attract the population from other areas resulting in enhanced economic
activities. As a result, adequate mass transportation facilities are needed to cater the internal
movements like to and from factories, offices, hospitals etc.
Aspects of safety, law and order- Transportation facilities are essential for rushing aids to
areas affected by an emergency. To defend the territory of the country against the external
aggression and to guard the borders with the foreign territories, transportation facilities are
needed connecting the farthest border area from the headquarters or capitals.

Role of transportation in rural development

With over 75% of the population of the country living in villages, the development in urban
centres alone do not indicate the overall development of the country. Only with the
improvement in transportation facilities in rural areas, there could be faster development of
the rural centres. The fertilizers and other inputs for agriculture and cottage industries could
reach the rural population easily and similarly the products can be sold at the nearest
marketing centers.
Different Modes of Transportation
The four major modes of transportation are(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)

Roadways or highways
Railways
Waterways
Airways

Apart from these major modes, other modes include pipe lines, elevators, belt conveyors etc.
The transportation by air is the fastest among the four modes. Air travel also provides more
comfort apart from saving in transportation time for the passengers and the goods between
the airports. The branch of transportation engineering which deals with planning, design,
construction and maintenance of airports for the operation of aircraft is termed as Airport
engineering.
Transportation by water is the slowest among the four modes but this mode needs minimum
energy to haul unit load through unit distance. This mode is possible between the ports on the
sea routes or along the rivers. The development of terminal facilities for ships and boats, their
harbouring, repairs etc are coverd under Harbour engineering.
For travelling long distances, transportation by railway is advantageous both for passengers
and goods. The energy requirement to haul unit load through unit distance by the railway is
only a fraction (one fourth to one sixth) of that required by road. The design and laying of
railway tracks and yards, their maintenance and safety are dealt in Railway engineering.
The transportation by road is the only mode which could give maximum service to one and
all. This mode has maximum flexibility for travel with reference to route, direction, time and
speed of travel etc. It is possible to provide door to door service through this mode. The other
three modes are dependent on transportation by roads for the service to and from their
respective terminals. The planning, design, construction and maintenance of roads are
covered under Highway engineering.

Characteristics of Road Transport

(a) Roads are used by various types of road vehicles, like passenger cars, buses, trucks,
bikes, pedal cycles and animal drawn vehicles. But railway tracks are used only by rail
locomotives and wagons, waterways are used only by ships and boats.
(b) Road transport requires a relatively small investment for the government. Motor vehicles
are much cheaper than other carriers like rail locomotives and wagons, water and air
carriers. Construction and maintenance of roads is also cheaper than that of railway
tracks, docks, harbours and airports
(c) Road transport offers a complete freedom to road users to transfer the vehicle from one
lane to other lane and from one road to other as per the needs while it is not the case in
railway, airway or waterways
(d) In particular for short distance travel, road transport saves time. Train stops at junctions
and main stations for comparatively longer time.
(e) Speed of movement is directly related with the severity of accident. The road safety
decreases with increasing dispersion in speed. Road transport is subjected to a high
degree of accidents due to the flexibility of movements offered to the road users.
Derailment of railway locomotives and air crash are also not uncommon and infact more
disastrous.
(f) Road transport is the only means of transport that offers itself to the whole community
alike.
Importance of roads in India
Significance of planned road network- India being a developing country have to raise their
transportation systems to a higher level both in terms of length and quality so as to meet the
demand which is being generated by the development plans. Overall economic progress can
be achieved only if adequate transport facilities are available between villages and other
district head quarters. It is estimated by Planning Commission and National Council of
Applied Economic Research that Rs 1,000 crores invested in roads would yield employment
for six million persons.
Good condition roads can contribute to 15 to 40% savings in vehicle operating cost. Also,
revenue from the road transport in India has been much higher than the investment made on
road development plans. During sixth five year 1980-85, only Rs 3439 crores was provided
while the revenue was Rs 10,000 crores.
Requirement of rural road development- Out of 5.76 lakhs villages in India, only 57% of
villages with population about 1500, 36.3% villages with popu. 1000 to 1500 and 23%

villages with popu. Less than 1000 were connected with all-weatherd roads by 1980-81. It is
estimated that Rs 11,000 crores (as per 1980 cost estimates) will be needed to provide all
weather motorable road network so that on the average any village is not more than 1.6 km
from a road.
Comparative study of road statistics- The road statistics may be presented on the basis of area
of the country or the population. There has been a noteworthy progress in road development
in India during post-independent period. The total road length by the year 1951 was only
3,97,600 km whereas in 1981 it was 15,02,700 km. The density of roads in km per 100 sq.
km area of the country by the year 1951 was about 12 which was increased to 21 by the year
1961, 34 by 1972 and 46 by 1981.
Scope of Highway Engineering
(a) Development, Planning and locations Historical background, basis for planning, master
plan, engineering surveys and highway alignment
(b) Highway design, geometrics and structures- Road geometrics and their design, rigid and
flexible pavements, design factors and thickness design, overlay design, design of
drainage system
(c) Traffic performance and its control- Traffic studies analysis, need for new road links,
traffic regulation and control, intersection design and their controls with signs, signals,
islands and markings
(d) Materials, construction and maintenance- Highway materials and mix design, highway
construction, earth work, construction of different types of pavements, soil stabilized,
water bound macadam, bituminous surfaces, pavement evaluation, maintenance of
pavements
(e) Economic, finance and administration- road user cost and economic analysis of highway
projects, pavement types and maintenance measures, highway finance and phasing of
expenditures.