🚉 TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION

Transport

Transport is a facility or a service for the carriage of persons and goods from one place to another using humans, animals and different kinds of vehicles. It is an organised service industry that handles loading, unloading and delivery.

Modes of Transportation

The main modes of transportation are land, water, air and pipelines. These are used for inter-regional and intra-regional transport, and each one (except pipelines) carries both passengers and goods.

Several places (nodes) join together by a series of routes (links) to form a pattern called transport network.

1. Land Transport

This includes movement of goods and services over land i.e. roads and rails.
Earlier humans themselves were carriers such as in palanquin (palki or doli), Later animals were used as beasts of burden( animals such as mules, horses, camels were used). Dogs and reindeers were used in North America.
With the invention of the wheel, the use of carts and wagons became important. The revolution in transport came about only after the invention of the steam engine in the eighteenth century.
Perhaps the first public railway line was opened in 1825 in northern England and then onwards, railways became the most popular and fastest form of transport in the nineteenth century.
It opened up continental interiors for commercial grain farming, mining and manufacturing in the U.S.A.
The invention of the internal combustion engine revolutionised road transport in terms of road quality and vehicles (motor cars and trucks) plying over them.
Among the new means of land transport are pipelines, ropeways and cableways. Rope and cableways are generally found on steep mountain slopes and mines, which are not suitable for building roads.

(i). Roads

It is most economical for short distance and gaining importance for freight transport due to its door to door service. Metalled roads are all weather roads while unmetalled roads are not serviceable in all seasons due to their simple construction. Though heavy rains and floods make both the roads unserviceable. The quality, construction and maintenance of roads is better in developed countries than in developing countries as it requires heavy expenditure.
Road Density: The total motorable road length of the world is only about 15 million km, in which North America separately accounted for 33%. Although, North America in compare to Western Europe registered the highest number of vehicles as well as highest road density. Road density is the total length of roads per hundred square kilometre of area.
Traffic Flows: Traffic on roads that has increased dramatically in recent years. As the road network cannot cope with the demands of traffic, so congestion occurs.
Highways: Highways are metalled roads connecting distant places for unobstructed vehicular movement. These are 80m wide with separate traffic lanes, bridges, flyovers and dual carriageways to facilitate the uninterrupted traffic flow.

In North America, there is a dense network of highways. Pacific coast is linked to the Atlantic coast, Vancouver is connected to Newfoundland by Trans-Canadian highway and Edmonton is connected to Anchorage through Alaskan highway.
Trans-continental Stuart highway connects Darwin, Melbourne to Alice springs in Australia. Europe has a well developed highway network.
Moscow-Vladivostok highway is important for Russia. Highways criss-cross the country in China.
In India, National Highway No.7 (NH7) connecting Varanasi and Kanyakumari is the longest highway of the country. (The golden quadrilateral or super expressway is under construction).
Now, NH-44 has become the longest running highway in India. It connects Srinagar to Kanyakumari. NH-7 is renamed as National Highway 44.
In Africa, Algiers in the North is connected to Guinea and Cairo connected to Cape town in South.

Border roads: Roads laid along international boundaries are called border roads. They play an important role in integrating people in remote areas with major cities and providing defence. Almost all countries have such roads to transport goods to border villages and military camps.

(ii). Railways

Railways are a mode of land transport for bulky goods and passengers over long distances.
Europe has one of the most dense rail networks in the world. There are about 4,40,000 km of railways, most of which is double or multiple-tracked. Belgium has the highest density of 1 km of railway for every 6.5 sq. kemps. area.
The industrial regions exhibit some of the highest densities in the world. Channel tunnel, operated by Eurotunnel Group through England, connects London with Paris.
Trans-continental railway lines have now lost their importance to quicker and more flexible transport systems of airways and roadways.
In Russia, railways account for about 90percent of the country’s total transport with a very dense network west of the Urals. Underground railways and commuter trains are also important in Moscow.
North America has one of the most extensive rail networks accounting for nearly 40 percent of the world’s .
In contrast to many European countries, the railways are used more for long-distance bulky freight like ores, grains, timber and machinery than for passengers.
The most dense rail network is found in the highly industrialised and urbanised region of East Central U.S.A. and adjoining Canada.
In South America, the rail network is the most dense in two regions, namely, the Pampas of Argentina and the coffee growing region of Brazil which together account for 40 percent of South America’s total route length. Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela have short single-track rail-lines from ports to the interior with no inter-connecting links.
There is only one trans-continental rail route linking Buenos Aires (Argentina) with Valparaiso (Chile) across the Andes Mountains through the Uspallata Pass
In Asia, the rail network is the most dense in the thickly populated areas of Japan, China and India. Other countries have relatively few rail routes.
West Asia is the least developed in rail facilities because of vast deserts and sparsely populated regions.
Africa continent, despite being the second largest, has only 40,000 km of railways with South Africa alone accounting for 18,000 km due to the concentration of gold, diamond and copper mining activities.
The important routes of the continent are:

The Benguela Railway through Angola to Katanga-Zambia Copper Belt; The Tanzania Railway from the Zambian Copper Belt to Dar-es-Salaam on the coast; The Railway through Botswana and Zimbabwe linking the landlocked states to the South African network; and The Blue Train from Cape Town to Pretoria in the Republic of South Africa.

a). Trans-Continental Railways

The railway line that runs across the continent and links its two ends is called a trans-continental railway line. They are constructed for economic and political reasons. The following are the most important of these:
Trans-Siberian Railway: It is in Russia and the longest railway in the world. It runs between St. Petersburg in West to Vladivostok in East, passing through Moscow, Irkutsk, Chita, etc. It links the important agro centre with the fur centre connecting rail routes to important cities of Asia.
Trans-Canadian Railway: Constructed in 1886, it is a 7050 km long railway in Canada that links Halifax in East to Vancouver in West. It passes through the industrial region connecting the wheat belt of Prairies and the coniferous forest area so it is considered as the economic artery of Canada. Wheat and meat are the important exports on this route.
The Union and Pacific Railway: This rail line connects New York on the Atlantic coast to San Francisco on the Pacific coast passing through Cleveland, Chicago, Omaha, Evans, Ogden and Sacramento. The most valuable exports on this route are ores, grain, paper, chemicals and machinery.
The Australian Trans-Continental Railway: This rail line runs West-East across the southern part of the continent from Perth on the West coast to Sydney on the East coast passing through Kalgoorlie broken hill and port Augusta. Another North-South line connects Adelaide and Alice spring and to be joined later to the Darwin-Birdum link.
The Orient Express: This line runs from Paris to Istanbul passing through Strasbourg, Munich, Vienna, Budapest and Belgrade. It has reduced the 10-day journey to only 4 days. Cheese, wine, bacon, oats, fruits and machinery are chief exports on this rail route.

2. Water Transport

The oceans are linked with each other and are negotiable with ships of various sizes. It is much cheaper because the friction of water is far less than that of land. The energy cost of water transportation is lower. Water transport is divided into ocean, routes and inland waterways.

(i). Ocean Routes

The oceans offer a smooth highway traversable in all directions with no maintenance costs. Its transformation into a routeway by sea-going vessels is an important development in human adaptation to the physical environment.
Compared to land and air, ocean transport is a cheaper means of haulage (carrying of load) of bulky material over long distances from one continent to another.
Modern passenger liners (ships) and cargo ships are equipped with radar, wireless and other navigation aids. The use of containers has made cargo handling at the world’s major ports easier.
The important ocean routes are:
The Northern Atlantic Sea Route: The busiest in the world, so it is called the Big Trunk Route. This links North-eastern U.S.A. and North-western Europe, the two industrially developed regions of the world. The foreign trade over this route is greater than that of the rest of the world combined. One fourth of the world’s foreign trade moves on this route. Port Said, Aden, Mumbai, Colombo and Singapore are some of the important ports on this route
Mediterranean–Indian Ocean Route: The trade route connects the highly industrialised Western European region with West Africa, South Africa, South-east Asia and the commercial agriculture and livestock economies of Australia and New Zealand. Trade due to the development of the rich natural resources such as gold, diamond, copper, tin, groundnut, oil palm, coffee and fruits.
Cape of Good Hope Sea Route: A cross the Atlantic Ocean which connects West European and West African countries with Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay in South America. Less traffic than the North American Route.
North Atlantic Sea Route: This sea route links the ports on the west-coast of North America with those of Asia. These are Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles on the American side and Yokohama, Kobe, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Manila and Singapore on the Asian side.
South Pacific Sea Route: This sea route connects Western Europe and North America with Australia, New Zealand and the scattered Pacific islands via the Panama Canal. This route is also used for reaching Hong Kong, Philippines and Indonesia.
Coastal Shipping: Coastal shipping is a convenient mode of transportation with long coastlines, e.g. USA, China and India. This type of shipping can reduce congestion on land routes.

a). Shipping Canals

There are two canals that serve as gateways of commerce for both the Eastern and Western worlds. They are:

The Suez Canal: Constructed in 1869, it is a man-made canal linking the Mediterranean sea and the Red sea. It is 160 km long and 11 -15 m deep without any locks and sea water flows freely through it.
The Panama Canal: It is a man-made canal linking the Atlantic ocean with Pacific ocean. It is 72 km long and involves a deep cutting for a length of 12 km and has 6 locks. It shortens the distance between New York and San Francisco by 13000 km by sea.

(ii). Inland Waterways

Rivers, canals, lakes and coastal areas are inland waterways for the transportation of cargo and passengers.
The development of inland waterways is dependent on the navigability width and depth of the channel, continuity in the water flow, and transport technology in use.
The significance of rivers as inland waterways for domestic and international transport and trade has been recognised throughout the developed world.
Despite inherent limitations, many rivers have been modified to enhance their navigability by dredging, stabilising river banks, and building dams and barrages for regulating the flow of water.
The following river waterways are some of the world’s important highways of commerce:

a). The Rhine Waterways: This waterway links the industrial areas of Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands with the North Atlantic sea routes. The river Rhine flows through Germany and the Netherlands. It flows through a rich coal field, Dusseldorf is an important port in this region. This waterway is the world’s most heavily used. More than 20,000 ocean-going ships and 2,000 inland vessels move from these waterways every year.
The Danube Waterway: The Danube river which is navigable up to Tauma Severin, emerges in the Black Forest. It is used mainly for the export of wheat, maize, timber and machinery.
The Volga Waterway: Volga is one of the developed waterways of Russia. It is navigable up to 11,200 km and drains into the Caspian Sea. It is connected to Moscow region and the Black Sea through Volga-Moscow canal and Volga-Don canal respectively.
The Great Lakes-St Lawrence Seaway: The Great Lakes along with the estuary of St Lawrence river form a waterway in North America. Duluth and Buffalo are two important ports on this route.
The Mississippi Waterways: The Mississippi-Ohio waterway links the interior part of the USA with the Gulf of Mexico in the South. Large steamers can move up to Minneapolis.

3. Air Transport

Air transport is the fastest means of transportation, but it is very costly. It is often the only means to reach inaccessible areas.
Air transport has brought about a connectivity revolution in the world.
In the Himalayan region, the routes are often obstructed due to landslides, avalanches or heavy snowfall. At such times, air travel is the only alternative to reach a place.
Airways also have great strategic importance. The airstrikes by U.S. forces in Iraq bears testimony to this fact.
The manufacturing of aircrafts and their operations require elaborate infrastructure like hangars, landing, fuelling, and maintenance facilities for the aircrafts. The construction of airports is also very expensive and has developed more in highly industrialised countries where there is a large volume of traffic.
Supersonic aircrafts cover the distance in a very short time.
Inter- Continental Air Routes:

USA accounts for 60% of airways of the world. Important cities are nodal points where air routes converge or radiate to all continents. Africa, Asiatic part of Russia and South America lack air services, sparser population or limited landmass or low economic development.

4. Pipelines

Pipelines are used extensively to transport liquids and gases such as water, petroleum and natural gas for an uninterrupted flow.
Pipelines can also be used to transport liquidified coal.
In New Zealand, milk is being supplied through pipelines from farms to factories. Big Inch is one such famous
Pipeline of the USA , which carries petroleum from the oil wells of the Gulf of Mexico to the North-eastern States.
In Europe, Russia, West Asia and India pipelines are used to connect oil wells to refineries, and to ports or domestic markets.
Turkmenistan is central Asia has extended pipelines to Iran and also to parts of China.
The proposed Iran-India via Pakistan international oil and natural gas pipeline will be the longest in the world.

Communication

Long distance communication in the form of telegraph and telephone are important.
In the mid-19th century, American Telegraph and Telephone company (AT&T) enjoyed a monopoly.
In developing countries the use of cell phones has gained importance for rural connectivity.
Latest technology developments have resulted in Optical Fibre Cables (OFC). They allow large quantities of data to be transmitted that are virtually error free.
With the digitisation of information in the 1990s, telecommunication slowly merged with computers to form integrated networks termed as the Internet.

A). Satellite Communication

Artificial satellites are deployed in Earth’s orbit to enhance communication and improve connectivity. This is satellite communication which has reduced the per unit cost and time of communication also.
Today the Internet is the largest electronic network on the planet connecting about 1,000 million people in more than 100 countries.
India developed its own satellite Aryabhata, launched it in 1979, Bhaskar -I in 1979 and Rohini in 1980.
Bhaskar, Challenger & INSAT-IB satellites are used for long distance communication and weather forecasting.

B). Cyberspace- Internet

Cyberspace is the world of electronic computerised space. It is encompassed by the Internet such as the World Wide Web (www), It is also referred to as the Internet.
Cyberspace exists everywhere. It may be in an office, sailing boat, flying plane and virtually anywhere.
The speed at which this electronic network has spread is unprecedented in human history.
Now the majority of the world’s users are in the U.S.A, U.K, Germany, Japan, China and India.
As billions use the Internet each year, cyberspace will expand the contemporary economic and social space of humans through e-mail, e-commerce, e-learning and e-governance.
The Internet together with fax, television & radio will be accessible to more people cutting across place & time.
It is these modern communication systems, more than transportation, that has made the concept of global village a reality.

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Wednesday, 22 December 2021

Transport And Communication