Transport Flashcards
What is the importance of Transport?
- Helps in the better utilisation of resources of backward areas by linking them with the more advanced areas
- Removes scarcity of goods during any crisis
- Aids in the process of industrialisation and urbanisation
- Helps in minimising the effects of natural disasters
- Brings in homogeneity and national integration in thought and culture through easy movement of people and bringing them in contact with one another
What are the advantages of Roadways?
- Can be constructed in areas of difficult terrain where railway lines do not exist
- Roads offer door to door service, thereby reducing the cost of loading and unloading
- Road transport supplements the other modes of transportation. It provides a link between railway stations, ports and their hinterlands
- The movement of goods is safer through road transport as the chances of pilferage are lesser than in railways
- Construction cost is lesser than that of railway lines
- It is flexible and through it every village and hamlet can be reached
What are the disadvantages of roadways?
- Several roads are unsurfaced and hence unsuitable for regular vehicular traffic
- Roads are not properly maintained. Poor road surfaces cause heavy loss in wear and tear of vehicles
- The traffic on Indian roads is very high and the same road is used by all types of vehicles. This increases traffic time and causes congestion, pollution and road accidents
- Many roads have inadequate capacity, weak pavement and lack of safety measures
- Roadways are inconvenient for long distance transportation
What are the advantages of airways?
- Fastest and most comfortable mode of transport
- Can cross natural barriers such as mountains, sandy deserts, large expanses of forests and forests with speed and ease
- Air transport is of particular importance during natural calamities. It is used to air-lift people from the affected areas and to air-drop food, medicines and other necessary items to calamity affected people
- Helps in strengthening national security and defence
What are the disadvantages of air transport?
- Air transportation is extremely expensive
- It can be adversely affected by weather condition as flights are often delayed by weather conditions
- Air transport is run on petroleum which is a non-renewable source of energy
- It can carry only a small tonnage but has high freight charges
- It is not suitable for short distance transportation
- All places are not connected by airways
What are the advantages of railways?
Extremely efficient and cost-effective
Helps in the easy movement of bulky goods and perishable commodities to distant places
Transport of raw materials to production units and finished good to markets
Reduce suffering during natural calamities
Facilitate easy movement of police, troops and defence equipment
Rail travel is safer and more comfortable
It has brought villages closer to cities helping transfer of new ideas and innovation to rural areas
What are the disadvantages of railways?
Railways lack flexibility of routes as train tracks cannot be laid in hilly, remote and forested areas
Train travel can be long and tedious as compared to air transport
Trains which run on coal produce air and noise pollution
It is not suitable for short distance transportation unlike roadways
It cannot be laid in all industrial regions
The cost of maintaining railways is considerably high
What are the features of inland waterways?
Deep enough to allow ships to navigate safely and are free of barriers such as waterfalls and rapids
Why are the rivers of Peninsular India not ideal for navigation?
They are seasonal as they are rain-fed
These rivers are comparatively shorter than the rivers of northern India
These rivers are marked by a number of waterfalls
Why is the Ganga navigable from its mouth to Allahabad?
It is a perennial river fed by monsoon rains in the rainy season and melting of snow on the mountains during dry season
It is joined by Yamuna, Kosi, Ghomti, Ghagra, Gandak and Kosi which increase the depth of water in Ganga
The slope of the Ganga is gradual and its river bed is free from stones and silt
What are the advantages of waterways?
It is the cheapest mode of transport
It is most suitable for carrying heavy and bulky material
It is a fuel-efficient and Eco-friendly mode of transport
Travel by ships and cruises is extremely comfortable as it is spacious and provides a lot of facilities
Water transport is safe and has less traffic as compared to air and road transport
What are the disadvantages of water transport?
It depends on weather conditions
It needs long travelling hours which causes sea sickness
It is limited to areas where rivers are navigable and oceanic routes exist
