Transportation Infrastructure

4.1 Road Infrastructure

India has the 2nd largest road network in the world — 63.32 lakh km total (2022), including National Highways (1.46 lakh km), State Highways, district roads, and village roads. However, road quality and density remain challenges.

Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I (2017):

• India's flagship highway development programme
• 34,800 km of National Highways: Economic corridors (26 corridors), inter-corridors, ring roads, border and coastal highways
• Total project cost: Rs 5.35 lakh crore
• Key objectives: reduce travel time by 25–30%; lower logistics costs; better inter-state connectivity
• Progress (March 2024): ~17,000 km awarded; ~10,000 km constructed

Key Expressways:

• Delhi-Mumbai Expressway (1,386 km, longest in India): Phase 1 operational in sections from 2023; will cut travel from 24 hours to 12 hours
• Amritsar-Jamnagar Expressway: 5 states; connecting Punjab to Gujarat
• Ganga Expressway (Uttar Pradesh): 594 km; operational 2024

NH Network Expansion: National Highway length grew from 97,991 km (2014) to 1,46,195 km (2024) — 50% increase in a decade.

4.2 Railways

Indian Railways is the world's 4th largest rail network (route length 68,702 km), serving 24 million passengers and 3+ million tonnes of freight daily.

Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC):

• Eastern DFC: Ludhiana–Sonnagar (1,337 km) — fully operational (December 2022)
• Western DFC: Dadri–Mumbai (1,468 km) — fully operational (February 2022)
• Benefits: frees passenger routes; doubles freight speed (from 25 to 50+ km/h); reduces logistics cost

PM Gati Shakti — Three New Rail Corridors (Union Budget 2023–24):

• Energy, Mineral and Cement corridor (8,000 km): facilitating coal, cement, fertiliser movements
• Port Connectivity corridor (7,000 km): improving port hinterland connectivity
• High Traffic Density corridor (58 routes): decongesting busy passenger routes

Vande Bharat Express: Semi-high-speed trains (160 km/h) manufactured by Integral Coach Factory, Chennai

• 40 trainsets operational by 2024; target 400 by 2026
• Cost: Rs 80–120 crore per rake

Railway Budget highlights 2024–25:

• Capital expenditure: Rs 2,52,200 crore (record)
• 40,000 bogies to be upgraded; 3 crore passengers in upgraded coaches

4.3 Civil Aviation

India is the world's 3rd largest civil aviation market by domestic passenger traffic.

UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik):

• Launched: October 21, 2016 | Ministry: Civil Aviation
• Mechanism: Viability Gap Funding (VGF) subsidy to airlines for regional routes
• 50% seats at capped fare (Rs 2,500 for 1 hour); balance at market fares
• Progress: 479 routes operational (2024); 89 airports developed; 9 heliports
• UDAN 5.0 (2023): Extended to seaplanes, helicopters; new routes to northeast and Himalayas

Air Traffic Growth:

• Domestic passengers: 13.3 crore (2022–23); target 30 crore+ by 2030
• India aims for 200 operational airports by 2025 (from ~150 currently)
• New airports: Navi Mumbai (under construction), Noida International Airport (Jewar), Itanagar

4.4 Ports and Waterways (Sagarmala Programme)

Sagarmala Programme (2015):

• Port-led development model: 802 projects (Rs 5.48 lakh crore) in four areas:
  1. Port modernisation: augmenting capacity, mechanisation
  2. Port connectivity: road, rail, inland waterway connections to ports
  3. Port-led industrialisation: coastal economic zones, SEZs near ports
  4. Coastal community development: fishing villages, skill development

India's major ports (12 major + ~200 non-major):

• Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT), Navi Mumbai: largest container port; handled 65+ lakh TEUs/year
• Mundra Port (Gujarat): largest private port; handles 150+ MT cargo
• Major ports combined capacity: 1,600 MT (2024); cargo handled: 819 MT (2022–23)

Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI):

• National Waterway 1 (NW-1): Allahabad–Haldia (1,620 km), Ganga — operational; Jal Vikas Marg project
• 105 National Waterways declared; 26 being developed for commercial navigation

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