Railways in India are the principal mode of transportation for freight and passengers. Railways also make it possible to conduct multifarious activities like business, sightseeing, pilgrimage along with transportation of goods over longer distances. Apart from being an important means of transport, the Railways in India have been a great integrating force for more than 150 years.

Railways in India bind the economic life of the country as well as accelerate the development of industry and agriculture. The Indian Railway has a network of 7, 031 stations spread over a route length of 63, 221 km. with a fleet of 7817 locomotives, 5321 passenger service vehicles, 4904 other coach vehicles, and 228, 170 wagons as of 31 March 2004. The Indian Railway is now reorganized into 16 zones.

Distribution of Railways in India

The distribution pattern of the Railway network in the country has been largely influenced by physiographic, economic, and administrative factors. The northern plains with their vast level of the land, high population density, and rich agricultural resources provided the most favorable condition for their growth.

However, a large number of rivers requiring the construction of bridges across their wide beds posed some obstacles. In the hilly terrains of the peninsular region, railway tracts are laid through low hills, gaps, or tunnels. The Himalayan mountainous regions too are unfavorable for the construction of railway lines due to high relief, sparse population, and lack of economic opportunities.

Likewise, it was difficult to lay railway lines on the sandy plain of western Rajasthan, swamps of Gujarat, forested tracks of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, and Jharkhand. The contiguous stretch of Sahyadri could be crossed only through gaps or passes (Ghats).

In recent times, the development of the Konkan railway along the west coast has facilitated the movement of passengers and goods in this most important economic region of India. It has also faced a number of problems such as the sinking of track in some stretches and landslides.

Today, the railways have become more important in our national economy than all other means of transport put together. However, rail transport suffers from certain problems as well. Many passengers travel without tickets. Thefts and damage to railway property have not yet stopped completely. People stop the trains, pull the chains unnecessarily and this causes heavy damage to the railway.

Pipelines

The pipeline transport network is a new arrival on the transportation map of India. In the past, these were used to transport water to cities and Industries. Now, these are used for transporting crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas from oil and natural gas fields to refineries, fertilizer factories, and big thermal power plants.

Solids can also be transported through a pipeline when converted into a slurry. The far inland locations of refineries like Barauni, Mathura, Panipat, and gas-based fertilizer plants could be thought of only because of pipelines. The initial cost of laying pipelines is high but subsequent running costs are minimal. It rules out trans-shipment losses or delays.

There are three important networks of pipeline transportation in the country. � From the oil field in upper Assam to Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), via Guwahati, Barauni, and Allahabad. It has branches from Barauni to Haldia, via Rajbandh, Rajbandh to Maurigram and Guwahati to Siliguri. From Salaya in Gujarat to Jalandhar in Punjab, via Viramgam, Mathura, Delhi, and Sonipat.

It has branches to connect Koyali (near Vadodara, Gujarat) Chakshu, and other places. The gas pipeline from Hazira in Gujarat connects Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh, via Vijaipur in Madhya Pradesh. It has branches to Kota in Rajasthan, Shahajahanpur, Babrala, and other places in Uttar Pradesh.

Read More: What is International Trade? Lifelines Of National Economy - Class 10