Transport

Villages and towns are linked by road transport.

There are 14 national highways passing through Karnataka.

The city railway system of Bengaluru is called Krantivira sangolli rayanna railway station.

The port that is called the ‘Gateway of Karnataka’ is The New Mangaluru Port.

The Coastal Railway of Karnataka is called Konkan Railway.

The importances of road transport are as follows:

• Roads are important as they are necessary in the transport of people and goods over short and medium distances.

• They are cheap and easy to construct and maintain.

• Roads can be constructed in hilly areas as they can negotiate steep slopes and sharp bends

• Roads can act feeders to railways.

• Perishable communities like milk, fruits and vegetables are more quickly carried by roadways than railways.

The types of roads in Karnataka are as follows:

• National Highways- These roads are maintained by the ‘National Roads Authority of India’. These roads connect different cities, capital of states, ports. These are wide roads of two-lane, four-lanes as well as six-lane roads.

• State Highways- These roads link with the capital city with towns, district headquarters etc.

• District Roads- These roads connect district headquarters with Taluk headquarters and also connect different towns, villages, highways. These roads are not so well structured like the highways.

• Village roads- These roads link taluk headquarters with village and district highways.

The important rail routes of Karnataka are:

• Konkan Railways- Konkan Railways is the Coastal railways of Karnataka. Its length is 273 kms with 13 main and 310 other bridges. It links with important cities like Mangaluru and Mumbai and gives a fast, safe and comfortable journey.

• Metro Rail- The first metro rail has been started from 20^th October 2011 which links Byappanahalli and M.G.Road. Namma Metro Rail Transport Plan has been implemented. Metro rail is becoming an important means of railway transport as the number of commuters is increasing day by day.

The advantages of Air transport are as follows:

• Air transport is the fastest means of transport. When speed and time are important constraints this mode of transport is indispensible.

• It is relatively free of physical barriers such as mountain ranges

• Aircrafts of one type or another have made it possible to reach the most remote parts of the earth. Jungles, valleys and desserts are now easily traversed by aircrafts.

Karnataka has 23 large and small ports. The New Mangaluru Port is the 9^th major port of the country which is also known as the ‘Gateway of Karnataka’. The ten smaller ports include Old Mangaluru Port, Malpe, Hangarakatte, Kundapura Padubidri, Bhatkal, Honnavara, Tadri, Belekeri and Karwar port. All the minerals, agricultural products are exported from these ports.

Explanation

1. National Highways NH-4 and NH-7 come under the National Highway Authority’s ‘Golden Quadrilateral Highway Project’.

2. Broad Gauge determines the distance between two railway lines i.e. 1.676m.

3. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (H.A.L) was an international airport which was shifted to Devenahalli on 24^th May 2008.

4. Belekeri is a small port in Karnataka.

5. Namma Metro Rail Transport Plan in Bengaluru is a project undertaken by Metro Railway.

A Journey by Train

Railway journey is the safest cheapest and the most comfortable journey. Last summer I and my family were travelling from Dehra Dun to Amritsar. We got down to Dehra Dun station in time to catch 1-50 p.m train. I got a sit beside the window. At time came the guard blew the whistle and we glided out of the station.

The country of Dehra Dun valley through which we were passing is pretty and we enjoyed it very much. As the train went eastward, we saw the lower Himalayan hills and even white houses of Mussoorie, while the right is the Siwalik range. We passed by green fields; and then through beautiful forests; and everything looked very bright and pleasant in the afternoon sunshine.

After some hours we reached the sacred town of Haridwar where the train stopped. From the window we could see the holy Ganga and some temples on its banks. The station was crowded as many people came to catch the train. There was a lot of hustle-bustle. Some were selling tea, snacks, some were begging. After leaving Haridwar, we passed through the Siwalik hills and closing nearer over the plains of Uttar Pradesh. At 8 pm, we reached Saharanpur and here our dinner was served. After dinner, we went off to sleep.

As we woke up in the morning, we were in Punjab. And about noon, the train rolled into the big, hot noisy station of Amritsar. This was a very beautiful train journey of mine. I had a beautiful view of the nature from the train. Railway journey is surely the best means of transport.

I live in Kolkata which is a mega city. Kolkata has all types of transport like that of air, water and railway. Kolkata has the busiest Howrah railway station and the Sealdah railway station where trains of all important cities of India are available. The first underground railway of India ‘Metro Railway’ was successfully completed in Kolkata. Now various other metro projects are under construction. The Kolkata Tram is a charming way of commuting in the city. Kolkata has the Netaji Subhas International Airport where domestic and international flights are available. It has Netaji Subhas Dock which is a port used for commercial purposes of import and export. Kolkata is connected to the Rest of India by National Highway. Kolkata is a part of the ‘Golden Quadrilateral Highway Project’. Road Transport is available in plenty in Kolkata which helps us to connect different cities and states. The state of art and the most primordial structure of transportation synchronize and function making it incredibly unique in reality.