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Fund a m ent a ls of Hu m a n Ge ogra p h y6 6

pipelines. Th ese are u sed for int er -region al and

intr a-regional tran sport , an d each one (except

pipelines) carries both pas sen gers an d freight.

The s ignifican ce of a m ode depen ds on t he t ype

of goods a nd services to be tran sported, costs

o f t r a n s p o r t a n d t h e m o d e a v a i l a b l e .Int erna tion al movemen t of goods is h an dled by

ocean freighters. Road tr an sport is cheaper a ndfas ter over sh ort distan ces and for door-to-

door services. Railways ar e m ost s u ited for largevolu mes of bu lky materials over lon g distan ces

w i t h i n a c o u n t r y . H i g h - v a l u e , l i g h t a n d

perisha ble goods ar e best moved b y airways.In a wel l -managed t ransport system, these

various m odes complemen t each other.

Land Tran spo rt

Most of the movement of goods and servicestakes p lace over lan d. In ear ly days, hu ma ns

th ems elves were carriers. Have you ever s een a

bride being carried on a pa lan qu in (pa lk i/ doli)

by four pers ons (Kahars in n orth India). Later

animals were u sed as beasts of bu rden. Have

you s een mu les, horses a nd camels , carrying

loads of cargo in ru ral area s? With th e invention

of the wheel , the use of car ts and wagons

became importan t . The revolu tion in tran sport

cam e abou t only after th e in vention of th e steam

engine in th e eighteenth cen tu ry. Perhap s the

first public railway line was opened in 1825

between Stockton a nd Da rlington in north ern

Englan d an d th en onwards, ra i lways b ecam e

the most p opular an d fastes t form of tran sporti n t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y . I t o p e n e d u p

cont inenta l in ter iors for commercia l gra in

farm ing, mining an d m an u factu ring in U.S.A.The invent ion of th eintern al combu stion engine

revolu tionised road tran sport in term s of roadquali ty and vehicles (motor cars and trucks)

p l y i n g o v e r t h e m . A m o n g t h e n e w e r

d e v e l o p m e n t s i n l a n d t r a n s p o r t a t i o n a r e

pipelines, r opeways an d ca bleways. Liqu ids like

minera l o i l , wa te r , s ludge and sewers a re

t ransported by pipel ines. The great f re ight

carr iers ar e the railways, ocean vess els, bar ges,

boats an d m otor t ru cks an d pipelines.

In genera l, the old an d elemen tary forms

like the human porter, pack animal, cart or

wagon a r e t h e m o s t e x p e n s i v e m e a n s o f

t ransporta t ion and large f re ighters are the

cheapest. They are importan t in s u pplemen tingmodern cha nn els an d carriers which penetrate

th e interiors in large coun tries. In th e dens ely

popu lated d istricts of In dia an d Ch in a, overlandtran sport st i ll takes place by hu ma n p orters or

ca r t s d rawn or pushed by hu man s .

Pac k Animal sPac k Animal sPac k Animal sPac k Animal sPac k Animal s

Hor sesHor sesHor sesHor sesHor sesar eusedasadr aught animal even

in t he W es t e r n coun t r ies .DogsDogsDogsDogsDogsand

r eindeerr eindeerr eindeerr eindeerr eindeerar eusedinNor t hAmer ica,Nor t h

Eur opeandSiber iat od r aw sl edgesoversnow -cover edgr ound.MulesMulesMulesMulesMulesar epr efer r edint hemount ainousr egions;w hil ecamel scamel scamel scamel scamel sar eusedf or car avanmovement indeser t s.InInd ia,bul locksbul locksbul locksbul locksbul locksar eusedf or pul l ingcar t s.

Fig . 8 .2 : A h or s e ca r t in a vi ll a ge Te fk i ,

i n E t h i op i a

Fig . 8 .1 : Ro p ew a y a nd Ca bl e ca rs in Au s t r ia

This means of t r anspor t is usual l y f ound on st eep

mount ainsl opesandminesw hichar enot suit ablef orbuil dingr oads.

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Tra nsp o r t a nd Comm unica t io n 6 7

Roads

Road tran sport is th e most econom ical for sh ortd i s t a n c e s c o m p a r e d t o r a i l w a y s . F r e i g h t

t r a n s p o r t b y r o a d i s g a i n i n g i m p o r t a n c e

because i t offers door-to-door service. Butu n m e t a l l e d r o a d s , t h o u g h s i m p l e in

cons tru ction , are n ot effective an d ser viceablefor all seas ons . Du ring the rainy seas on th ese

become u nm otorable an d even th e metal led

ones a re ser iously han dicapped du ring h eavyrains an d floods. In s u ch cond it ions , the h igh

embankment of rai l-tracks and the efficient

ma intena nce of railway tran sp ort service, is a n

effective solut ion. Bu t th e rail kilom etra ge bein g

sm al l can not serve the needs of vas t an d

developing countr ies a t a low cost . Roads,

th erefore, play a vital role in a n ations tr ad ean d comm erce an d for promot ing tour ism.

The quali ty of the roads varies greatly

between developed and developing countries

because road const ruct ion and maintenance

requ i re h eavy expend i tu re . In deve lopedcoun tries good qu ality roads a re u niversal an d

provide long-distance l inks in the form of

motorways, au tobah ns (German y), an d int erst ate h igh ways for speedy movemen t. Lorries,

of increas ing size an d power to carr y h eavyloads, a re common. But unfor tunate ly , the

worlds road syst em is n ot well developed.

Th e worlds tota l m otora ble road lengthis only about 15 million km, of which North

America accoun ts for 33 per cent . The h igh estr o a d d e n s i t y a n d t h e h i g h e s t n u m b e r o f

v e h i c l e s a r e r e g i s t e r e d i n t h i s c o n t i n e n t

compared to Western Eu rope.

Tab l e 8 .1 : Leng t h o f t he Roads

S l . Count ries For every

No. 1 0 0 k m2

a rea

1 . India 10 5

2 . J apan 32 73 . Fra n ce 16 4

4 . U.K. 16 2

5 . U.S.A. 6 7

6 . Spa in 6 8

7 . Sr i La n ka 15 1

Source : Encyclopedia Britannica Year Book, 2005.

T r a f f i c F l o w s : T r a f f i c o n r o a d s h a s

increased d ram atically in recent years. When

the road n etwork cann ot cope with th e deman ds

of tra ffic,congestion occu rs . City roads s u ffer

from ch ron ic tra ffic congestion. Peaks (high

poin ts ) an d tr ou ghs (low poin ts ) of tra ffic flow

can b e seen on roads a t part icular t imes of the

day, for exam ple, peaks occu rring du ring theru sh hou r before and after work. Most of the

cities in th e world h ave been facing the p roblemof conges tion.

Think o n t hese l ines f or aTh ink o n t hese l ines f or aTh ink o n t hese l ines f or aTh ink o n t hese l ines f or aTh ink o n t hese l ines f or abet t er t o mo r r o w . . .bet t er t o mo r r o w . . .be t t er t o mo r r o w . . .bet t er t o mo r r o w . . .bet t er t o mo r r o w . . .

URBAN TRANSPORT SOLUTIONSURBAN TRANSPORT SOLUTIONSURBAN TRANSPORT SOLUTIONSURBAN TRANSPORT SOLUTIONSURBAN TRANSPORT SOLUTIONS

Higher Par k ingFee

Mass Rapid Tr ansit (MRT)

Impr ovedPubl icBusSer vice

Expr essways

Highways

Highways are m etalled roads conn ecting distan t

places. They are constru cted in a ma nn er for

unobst ructed vehicular movement . As such

thes e are 8 0 m wide, with separ ate tra ffic lanes,

bridges, flyovers and dual carriageways to

facilitate u n interr u pted tra ffic flow. In developedcountries, every city and port town is linked

through highways.

Fig . 8 .3 : Dh a rm a va ra m Tu ni Na t ion a l Hi gh w a y ,Ind ia

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In North Am erica, h igh way den sity is h igh ,

ab out 0 .65 km per sq k m. Every place is within

20 km distan ce from a highway. Cit ies located

on th e Pacific coas t (west) are well-conn ected

with th ose of the Atlan tic Coast (eas t). Likewise,

the cities of Cana da in the n orth a re link ed with

those o f Mexico in the sou th . The Trans-

Can ad ian High way links Van cou ver in British

Colu m bia(west coas t) to St. J ohn s City in

Newfoundland (east coast) and the Alaskan

H i g h w a y l i n k s E d m o n t o n ( C a n a d a ) t o

Anchorage (Alaska).

T h e Pa n - A m e r i c a n H i g h w a y , a l a r g e

portion of which h as been const ru cted, wil l

conn ect the coun tries of South America, Centr al

A m e r i c a a n d U . S . A . - C a n a d a . T h e T r a n s -

Continenta l Stu art Highway conn ects Darwin(north coast) an d Melbou rne via Tenna nt Creek

an d Alice Springs in Au st ra lia.

Eu rope has a large nu mb er of vehicles an d

a we ll -d e v e lo p e d h i gh w a y n e t w o r k . B u t

h igh ways face a lot of comp etition from ra ilways

an d waterways.

In Russia, a dense highway network is

developed in the industrialised region west of

t h e U r a l s w i t h M o s c o w a s t h e h u b . T h e

important Moscow-Vladivostok Highway serves

t h e r e gio n t o t h e e a s t . D u e t o t h e va s t

geograp hical area, highways in Ru ss ia a re notas importan t as rai lways.

In China, h ighways criss-cross the coun try

connecting all major ci t ies such as Tsungtso

(near Vietnam boundary), Shanghai (central

China ), Gua ngzhou (sou th ) an d Beijing(north).

A new h ighway link s Ch engdu with Lha sa in

Tibet.

I n I n d i a , t h e r e a r e m a n y h i g h w a y s

l i n k i n g t h e m a j o r t o w n s a n d c i t i e s . F o r

example, National Highway No. 7 (NH 7),

conn ect in g Var an as i wi th Kan ya Ku m ari , is

t h e l o n g e s t i n t h e c o u n t r y . T h e G o l d e nQuadri la tera l (GQ) or Super Expressway is

u nd erway to connec t th e four me t ropolit an

c i t i e s New Delh i , Mumbai , Banga lore ,

Chenn a i , Kolka ta an d Hyderaba d .

In Africa, a highway joins Algiers in the

n orth to Cona kry in Gu inea . Similarly, Cairo

is also con n ected to Cape Town.

Border Roads

Roads laid along intern ationa l boun daries arecalled border roads. They play an important

role in integrat ing people in rem ote area s with

m ajor cities an d providing defence. Almost a llcoun tr ies h ave su ch roads to t rans port goods

to border villages a nd military cam ps .

Railways

Rai lways are a mode of land t ransport forb u l k y g o o d s a n d p a s s e n g e r s o v e r l o n g

dista n ces. The ra ilway gauges vary in different

coun tr ies a nd are rou ghly c las si fied as broad(more than 1.5 m), s ta nd ard (1 .44 m), metre

gauge (1 m ) an d sm aller gau ges. The s tan dar dgauge is u sed in the U.K.

Comm u ter trains are very popu lar in U.K.,U.S.A, J apa n an d India. These carry m illionsof pa ss engers da ily to an d fro in th e city. Th ere

are a bou t 13 lak h km of railways open for traffic

in th e world.

Fig . 8 .4 : Tu be Tr a in in Vie nna

Tab l e 8 .2 : To t a l Leng t h o f Ra i l ways i n Se l ec t ed Countries ( in 100 sq km)

Sl. Countries For every

No. 1 0 0 / km 2 area

1 . U.S.A. 2 78 .3

2 . Ru ss ia 1 60 .83 . India 144 .7

4 . Canada 9 3 .5

5 . Germ a n y 9 0 .8

6 . China 7 0 .1

7 . Au stralia 4 0 .0

8 . U.K. 3 7 .9

9 . Fra n ce 3 4 .5

1 0 . Brazil 3 0 .1

Source : Encyclopaedia Britanica Year Book, 2005.

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Europe has one of the most dense ra i l

n e t w o r k s i n t h e w o r l d . T h e r e a r e a b o u t

4,40,000 km of rai lways, most of which is

double or multiple-tracked. Belgium has the

h igh est den sity of 1 k m of railway for every 6.5

sq kms a rea. The ind u strial regions exhibitsom e of th e highest den sities in th e world. Th e

i m p o r t a n t r a i l h e a d s a r e L o n d o n , P a r i s ,Bru ss els, Milan , Berlin an d Warsa w. Pas sen ger

transport is more important than freight inma ny of these coun tries. Underground railways

are importan t in London and Par is . Chan nel

T u n n e l , o p e r a t e d b y E u r o T u n n e l G r o u pthrou gh En glan d, connects Lond on with Paris.

Tran s-continenta l rai lway lines h ave now lost

th eir imp ortan ce to qu icker a nd more flexible

t ran sport systems of a i rways an d roadways.

In Ru ss ia, rai lways accou nt for ab out 9 0per cent of the cou nt rys tota l trans port with a

very dens e network west of th e Urals. Moscowis th e most importa nt rail head with ma jor lines

ra diating to differen t pa rts of th e coun trys vast

geograph ical area. Undergrou nd r ailways an dcommu ter trains a re also imp ortant in Moscow.

N o r t h A m e r i c a h a s o n e o f t h e m o s textensive rail networks accounting for nearly

40 p er cent of th e worlds tota l? In con tra st tomany European countr ies , the ra i lways are

u sed m ore for long-dista n ce bu lky freigh t like

ores, grains, t imber and machinery than forpas sen gers. The most dense rai l network isf o u n d i n t h e h i g h l y i n d u s t r i a l i s e d a n d

urbanised region of East Central U.S.A. andadjoining Cana da.

In Canada, rai lways are in the publicsector and distributed all over the sparsely

popu lated a reas. The tran scontinenta l railwayscarry the bu lk of wheat an d coal tonn age.

A u s t r a l i a h a s a b o u t 4 0 , 0 0 0 k m o f

ra ilways, of which 25 per cen t ar e foun d in New

Sou th Wales a lone. The west-east Au stra l ianNational Railway line ru ns across the cou nt ry

from Perth to Sydn ey. New Zealan ds ra ilwaysare mainly in the North Island to serve the

farm ing a reas.In Sout h America, the ra il network is th e

most d ense in two regions, n am ely, the Pam pasof Argentina and the coffee growing region of

Brazil which together a ccou nt for 40 per cent

of Sou th Americas tota l rou te length. Only Chile,a m o n g t h e r e m a i n i n g c o u n t r i e s h a s a

considerable route length link ing coasta l centr es

with th e min ing sites in th e in terior. Peru , Bolivia,Ecu ad or, Colomb ia an d Venezuela ha ve sh ort

single-track rail-lines from ports to th e interiorwith no inter -conn ecting link s.

There is only one trans-continental rai l

route linking Buenos Aires (Argentina) withValparaiso (Chile) acr oss th e An des Moun tains

throu gh th e Uspallat ta Pass located at a h eight

of 3,900 m.In Asia, rai l network is th e most dens e in

the th ickly popu lated areas of J apan , China an dIn dia. Oth er cou n tries h ave relatively few rail

rou tes. West Asia is th e leas t developed in ra il

facilit ies becau se of vas t des erts a nd spa rsely

popu lated regions .

A f r i c a c o n t i n e n t , d e s p i t e b e i n g t h es e c o n d l a r g e s t , h a s o n l y 4 0 , 0 0 0 k m o f

ra i lways wi th Sout h Afr ica a lone accoun t ingfor 18 ,000 km due to the concen t ra t ion of

gold, diam ond an d copper m ining ac t ivit ies .

The imp ortan t rou tes of the cont inen t ar e : (i)

th e Bengue la Ra i lway th rough An gola toKat an ga-Zam bia Copp er Belt; (ii) th e Tan zan ia

Rai lway from the Zambian Copper Bel t toDar -es-Sa laam on th e coast ; (i ii ) th e Railway

throu gh Botswan a an d Zimba bwe link ing the

l a n d l o c k e d s t a t e s t o t h e S o u t h A f r i c a nn etwork; an d (iv) th e Blue Train from Ca peTown to Pre tor ia in the Republ ic of South

Africa. Elsewh ere, as in Algeria, Senega l,

Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia, rai lway l inesconn ect por t c it ies to inter ior cent r es bu t donot form a good n etwork with other cou ntr ies.

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Trans Con tin en tal Railways

Transcont inenta l ra i lways run across thecontinent and l ink i ts two ends. They were

constr u cted for econom ic an d political reason s

to facili tate long ru n s in d ifferent directions .Th e followin g ar e the mos t im porta nt of th ese:

TransSiberian Railway

This is a transsiberian Railways major rai l

route of Russ ia ru ns from St. Petersbu rg in thewest to Vladivostok on th e Pacific Coas t in th e

east pas sing th rough Moscow, Ufa, Novosibirsk ,

Irku tsk, Chi ta an d Kha barovsk. It is the m ostimp ortant route in Asia an d th e longest (9,332

km) double - t racked and e l ec t r i f i ed t ranscontinenta l rai lway in the world. It h as helped

in opening u p its Asian region to West Eu ropeanmar kets. It ru ns across the Ural Moun tains Oban d Yenisei rivers Ch ita is a n imp ortan t agr o-

Fig . 8 .5 : Tr a ns S ib er ia n Ra il w a y

centre an d Irku tsk, a fu r centre. There are

connecting link s to th e south , nam ely, to Odessa

( U k r a i n e ) , B a k u o n t h e C a s p i a n C o a s t ,

Tash ken t (Uzbekista n ), Ulan Bat or (Mon golia),

an d Sh enyan g (Mu kden ) an d Beijing in China.

TransCanadian Railways

Th is 7,050 km long rail-line in Cana da ru ns fromHalifax in th e eas t to Van cou ver on th e Pacific

C o a s t p a s s i n g t h r o u g h M o n t r e a l , O t t a w a ,W i n n i p e g a n d C a l g a r y ( F i g . 8 . 6 ) . I t w a s

constructed in 1886, ini t ial ly as part of anagreemen t to ma ke British Colu mb ia on the west

coast join th e Federation of States. Later on , itg a i n e d e c o n o m i c s i g n i f i c a n c e b e c a u se i t

connec ted the Quebec -Mont rea l Indus t r i a lRegion with th e wh eat b elt of th e Prairie Region

an d th e Coniferou s Forest region in the n orth.T h u s e a c h o f t h e s e r e g i o n s b e c a m e

complementary to the other. A loop line from

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Winnipeg to Thunder Bay (Lake Superior)

conn ects th is rail-line with one of th e im porta nt

waterways of th e world. Th is line is th e economicar tery of Canada. Wheat and meat are the

importan t exports on this route.

The Union and Pacific Railway

Th is ra il-line conn ects New York on th e Atlan tic

Coast to San Fran cisco on th e Pacific Coast

pas sing throu gh Clevelan d, Chicago, Oma ha ,

E v a n s , O g d e n a n d Sa c r a m e n t o . T h e m o s t

valua ble exports on th is rou te are ores, grain,

paper, chemicals an d ma chinery.

The Aus t ra l i an Trans Cont i nent a l

Railway

This r ail-line ru ns west-east across the sou thernpart of the continent from Perth on the west

coast , to Sydney on the east coast . passingthrough Ka lgoor l i e , Broken Hi l l and Por t

Au gus ta (Fig. 8.7).

Anoth er major north-sou th l in e conn ects

Adelaide and Alice Spring an d to be join ed

fu rth er to th e DarwinBirdu m line.

The Orien t Express

This l ine ru ns from Paris to Is tanbu l passing

t h r o u g h S t r a s b o u r g , M u n i c h , V i e n n a ,

Bud apes t an d Belgrade. The journ ey time from

London to Is tanbul by this Express i s nowreduced to 96 h ours a s agains t 10 days by the

sea-rou te. The chief exports on th is rai l-route

a re cheese , bacon , oa t s , w ine , f ru i t s , andmachinery.

Th ere is a proposal to bu ild a Tran sAsiatic

Railway l inking Istanbul with Bangkok viaIr a n , P a k i s t a n , In d ia , B a n g l a d e s h a n d

Myanmar.

WAWAWAWAWATER TRANSPORTER TRANSPORTER TRANSPORTER TRANSPORTER TRANSPORTTTTT

O n e o f t h e g r e a t a d v a n t a g e s o f w a t e rtran sportat ion is th at i t does not require rou te

constr u ction. The oceans ar e linked with each

Fig . 8 .6 : Tra ns Ca na d ia n Ra i lw a y

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other a nd are n egotiable with sh ips of various

sizes. All that is needed is to provide portfacilit ies a t th e two end s. It is m u ch ch eaper

becau se th e friction of water is far less t ha n th at

of land . Th e energy cost of water tra n sp ortat ionis lower. Water transport is divided into sea

routes an d inlan d waterways.

Fig . 8 .8 : Th e vie w of S e in e Ri ve r fr om t h e Ei ff e l

Tower (One can see how t he r i ver has become a n

i m p o r t a n t I n l a n d w a t e r w a y )

Sea Route s

Th e ocean s offer a s mooth h ighway traversab lein all directions with no m ainten an ce costs . Itstransformation into a routeway by sea-going

vessels is an importan t development in h u ma na d a p t a t i o n t o t h e p h y s i c a l e n v i r o n m e n t .Compa red to lan d an d air, ocean tr an sport is acheaper mean s of hau lage(ca rr ying of load ) of

bulky material over long distances from onecontinen t to an other.

Modern p as sen ger liners (sh ips) an d cargo

sh ips are equipped with rada r, wireless an d othern avigation a ids. The developm ent of refrigeratedchambers for perishable goods, tankers and

specia l i sed ships has a l so improved ca rgotran sport. The u se of containers h as mad e cargo

ha nd ling at th e worlds m ajor ports easier.

Important Se a Routes

Major sea routes are sh own in th e Fig. 8.9. Some

importan t routes h ave been discu ssed in thefollowin g p ages .

Fig . 8 .7 : Au s t ra l ia n Tr a ns Cont inent a l Ra il w a y

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The Nor thern At lant i c Sea Route

This l inks North-eastern U.S.A. and North-

western Eu rope, the two ind u strially developed

regions of th e world. The foreign t ra de over th isroute is greater tha n tha t of the res t of the world

comb ined. On e fou rth of th e worlds foreign

trad e moves on th is r oute. I t is, th erefore, the

bu siest in th e world an d otherwise, called th e

Big Tru nk Route. Both the coasts h ave highly

advan ced ports an d h arbou r facilit ies.

Find out some of the important ports on the coast of

U.S.A. and Western Europe in your atlas.

T h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n I n d i a n O c e a n S e a

Rou t e

This sea rou te pas ses throu gh the heart of the

Old World a nd serves more coun tries an d peopletha n an y other rou te. Port Said, Aden, Mum bai,

C o l o m b o a n d S i n g a p o r e a r e so m e o f t h e

imp ortan t ports on th is rou te. The constr u ction

of Su ez cana l has greatly redu ced the distan ce

and t ime as compared to the ea r l i e r rou te

th rough th e Cape of Good Hope.

T h i s t r a d e r o u t e c o n n e c t s t h e h i g h l yindu strialised Western Eu ropean r egion with West

Africa, South Africa, South-east Asia and thecomm ercial agricultu re an d livestock econom ies

of Aust ra l ia and New Zealand. Before thecons t ru ct ion of the Su ez Cana l this was th e

rou te conn ecting Liverpool and Colomb o which

was 6 ,400 km longer than the Suez Cana lrou te. Th e volu m e of tra de a n d tra ffic between

both Eas t an d West Africa is on th e increas e

due to the development of the r ich natura l

resou rces su ch a s gold, diamond, copper, t in ,

groun dn u t, oil palm, coffee an d fruits.

The Cape of Good Hope Sea Route

This sea rou te is an other imp ortant one across

t h e A t l a n t i c O c e a n w h i c h c o n n e c t s W e s t

Eu ropean an d West Afr ican coun tr ies with

B r a z i l , A r g e n t i n a a n d U r u g u a y i n So u t h

Amer ica. Th e traffic is far less on t h is route

Fig . 8 .9 : Ma jor S ea Ro ut es a nd S ea Port s

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compar ed to th at of the North Atlan tic Route

b e c a u s e o f t h e l i m i t e d d e v e l o p m e n t a n d

popu lation in Sou th America a nd Africa. On ly

sou theas te rn Braz i l and Pla t a e s tua ry and

pa rts of Sou th Africa ha ve large-scale indu str ies.

Th ere is also little tra ffic on th e rou te betweenRio de J an eiro an d Cape Town becau se both

Sou th Am er ica an d Afr i ca h ave s imi la rproducts and resources.

Trade a cross th e vas t North Pacific Oceanmoves by several routes which converge at

Honolulu . Th e direct rou te on th e Great Circle

link s Van couver an d Yokoham a an d r educesth e tra velling distan ce (2,48 0 k m) by half.

The Nor th Pac i f i c Sea Route

This sea rou te link s th e ports on the west-coas t

of North Am erica with th ose of Asia. Thes e ar e

Van couver, Seat tle, Portland, S an Fran cisco an dL o s A n g e l e s o n t h e A m e r i c a n s i d e a n d

Yokoh am a, Kobe, Sh an gha i, Hong Kong, Manila

an d Singapore on th e Asian s ide.

The South Pac i f i c Sea Route

This sea route conn ects Western Eur ope andNorth Am erica with Au st ra lia, New Zealan d an d

the scattered Pacific islands via the PanamaCan al. This rou te is a lso used for reaching Hong

Kong, Ph ilippin es an d Indon esia. Th e dista n cec o ve r e d b e t w ee n Pa n a m a a n d Syd n e y is

12,000 km . Honolu lu i s an important por t on

this route.

C o a s t a l Sh i p p i ng

It is obvious th at water tran sport is a chea per

mode. While oceanic routes connect differentcountr ies , coasta l shipping is a convenient

mode of transportat ion with long coastl ines,

e.g. U.S.A, China an d India. Sh enzhen States

in Eu rope are m ost su itably placed for coas tal

sh ipping conn ecting on e mem bers coast withth e oth er. If properly developed, coas ta l sh ipping

can redu ce the congest ion on th e lan d routes .

Shi p p i ng C a na l s

The Su ez an d th e Pan am a Can als are two vital

man-made navigat ion canals or waterways

which s erve as gateways of comm erce for both

the eastern a nd western worlds.

T he Sue z C a na l

This canal had been const ructed in 1869 in

Egypt between Port Said in the n or th an d Port

Suez in the south l inking the Mediterranean

Sea and the Red Sea. It gives Europe a new

gateway to th eInd ian Ocean an d redu ces direct

sea - rou te d i s t ance be tween L ive rpool and

Colomb o compa red to th e Cape of Good Hope

rou te. It is a sea -level can al with ou t lockswhich is abou t 160 km an d 11 to 15 m deep.

About 100 ships travel daily and each ship

takes 10-12 h ours to cross this can al . The tollsare s o heavy that s ome find i t cheaper to go by

t h e lo n g e r C a p e R ou t e w h e n e ve r t h econsequ ent delay is not imp ortan t . A railway

follows the canal to Suez, and from Ismailia

there is a branch line to Cairo. A navigablefresh-water canal from the Nile also joins the

Su ez Can al in Ism ailia to su pply fresh -water to

Port Said an d Su ez.

Fig . 8 .1 0 : S uez Ca na l

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T he P a na m a C a na l

Th is can al conn ects th e Atlantic Ocean in t heeas t to th e Pacific Ocean in th e west. It h as been

c o n s t r u c t e d a c r o s s t h e P a n a m a I s t h m u sbetween Pana ma City and Colon by the U.S.

governm ent which p ur chas ed 8 km of area oneither s ide an d n am ed it the Can al Zone . Th e

Can al is a bou t 72 k m. long and in volves a verydeep cut ting for a length of 12 km . It ha s a s ix-lock s ystem an d s hips cross th e different levels

(26 m u p an d down) thr ough th ese locks beforeentering the Gu lf of Pan am a.

It sh orten s th e distan ce between New Yorka n d Sa n F r a n c i sc o b y 1 3 , 0 0 0 k m b y se a .

Likewise th e distan ce between Western Eu ropean d th e West-coas t of U.S.A.; an d North -eas tern

an d Centra l U.S.A. an d East an d South-east

Asia is s h orten ed. Th e econom ic significance ofth is Cana l is relat ively less tha n th at of the

Su ez. However, it is vital to th e econom ies ofLat in Am erica.

Inlan d Wate rways

Rivers, can als, lakes an d coas tal areas h ave

b e e n i m p o r t a n t w a t e r w a y s s i n c e t i m eimm emoria l . Boats an d steamers are used asmean s of t ran sport for cargo and pass engers .T h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f i n l a n d w a t e r w a y s i s

dependent on th e navigability width a nd d epthof the ch an nel, continu ity in t he water flow,a n d transport te chno logy in u se. Rivers areth e only mea ns of tran sport in den se forests.

Very hea vy cargo like coal, cemen t, timb er a n dmetallic ores can be tran sported throu gh inlandwaterways. In an cient times, riverways were thema in highways of tran sportat ion as in the caseof Ind ia. Bu t th ey lost importan ce becau se ofcomp etition from ra ilways, lack of water d u e to

d i v e r s i o n f o r i r r i g a t i o n , a n d t h e i r p o o rmaintenance.

Fig . 8 .1 1 : Th e Pa na m a Ca na l

Canyou t hink o f t he impact ont r af f ic inPanama

canalafter t heNicar aguancanalopensup?

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Fig . 8 .1 2 : In la nd w a t erw a y s a re a m a jo r s ource

of t ra ns p ort w h erever t h e r iver is w id e , d e epa nd fr ee of s il t

T h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f r i v e r s a s i n l a n d

wate rways fo r domest i c and in te rna t iona lt r a n s p o r t a n d t r a d e h a s b e e n r e c o g n i s e d

th rough out the developed world. Despi teinherent l imitat ions, many rivers have beenmodi f i ed to enhance the i r nav igab i l i ty by

dred ging, stab ilisin g river ban ks , and b u ildingdam s a nd bar rages for regulating the flow of

water. The followin g river wat erways are s omeof th e worlds imp ortan t h ighways of com merce.

The Rhin e Wate rways

Th e Rhine flows throu gh German y an d th e

Netherlands. It is navigable for 700 km fromRotterdam , at i t s mouth in th e Nether lan ds toBasel in Switzerland . Ocean-going vessels ca nreach u p to Cologne. The Ruh r river joins the

Rhine from the east . I t f lows through a richcoalfield and the whole basin has become a

prosperous m an u factu ring area. Dus seldorfisthe Rh ine p ort for th is r egion. Hu ge tonn age

moves a long the str etch sou th of the Ru hr. Thiswaterwa y is th e worlds m ost h eavily u sed . Each

year m ore than 20,000 ocean-going sh ips an d2,00,00 0 inlan d vess els exchan ge th eir cargoes.It conn ects th e ind u str ial areas of Switzerlan d,

German y, Fran ce, Belgiu m a nd th e Netherland swith th e North Atlan tic Sea Route.

The Danube Waterway

This importan t inlan d waterway serves Eas tern

Europe. The Danube river rises in the Black

Fores t and f lows eas twards th rough many

coun tries. It is na vigable u p to Tau rn a Severin .

The ch ief export items ar e wheat, m aize, timb er,

an d mach inery.

The Volga Wat erwa yR u ss i a h a s a l a r g e n u m b e r o f d e v e l o p e dwater ways, of which t h e Volga is one of th e mos t

importa nt . It provides a n avigable waterway of

11,200 km and dra ins into the Caspian Sea .

The Volga-Moscow Cana l con n ects it with th e

Moscow region a n d th e Volga-Don Ca n al with

th e Black Sea.

The Grea t Lakes S t . Lawrence Seaway

Th e Great Lakes of North Am erica Su perior,

Huron Erie an d Onta r io are connected by Soo

Cana l an d Wellan d Can al to form an inland

waterway. The es tu ary of St . Lawrence River,

a long with the Great Lakes, forms a u nique

commercia l waterway in the n or thern par t of

North America. The ports on this route l ike

Dulu th and Buf fa lo a re equ ipped wi th a l l

facili t ies of ocean ports . As s u ch large ocean -

going vessels ar e able to na vigate u p th e river

Fig . 8 .1 3 : Th e Rh in e Wa t erw a y

Fig . 8 .1 4 : Rh in e Wa t e rw a y

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operations require elabora te infras tru ctur e like

ha ngars, lan ding, fu elling, an d ma intena nce

facilities for the aircrafts. The construction of

airports is also very expen sive an d h as developed

more in highly indu strialised coun tries where

th ere is a large volu m e of traffic.At pres ent n o place in the world is m ore

tha n 35 h ours away. This sta rtling fact h as beenma de poss ible due to p eople who bu ild a nd fly

airplan es. Travel by air can n ow be meas u redby hours and minutes instead of years and

mon ths . Frequen t air services are available to

many pa r t s o f the wor ld . A l though , U .K .pioneered th e u se of commercial jet t ran sport ,

U.S.A. developed lar gely pos t-War intern at ion al

c i v i l a v i a t i o n . T o d a y , m o r e t h a n 2 5 0

commercial airlines offer regular services to

d i ffe r e n t p a r t s o f t h e w o r ld . R e c e n tdevelopmen ts can ch an ge the fu tu re cou rse of

air transport . Supersonic aircraft , cover thedistan ce between Lond on an d New Yorkwithin

three and a h al f hou rs .

Int er-Cont ine ntal Air Rout es

In th e Northern Hemisph ere, there is a distinct

east-west belt of inter -continen tal air routes.

Dens e network exists in E as tern U.S.A., Wester n

Europe and Southeas t As ia . U .S .A . a lone

accoun ts for 60 per cent of the a irways of the

world. New York, Lond on, Par is, Am st erda m ,

Fra n kfur t Rome, Moscow, Kar ach i, New Delh i,

Mumbai , Bangkok, Singapore , Tokyo, San

Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago are thenodal points where a i r routes converge or

radiate to al l continen ts.

Africa, Asiatic part of Russia and SouthAm erica lack a ir services. Th ere are lim ited air

s e r v i c e s b e t w e e n 1 0 - 3 5 l a t i t u d e s i n t h eS o u t h e r n h e m is p h e r e d u e t o s p a r s e r

population, l imited landmass and economic

development.

PIPELINESPIPELINESPIPELINESPIPELINESPIPELINES

Pipel ines are used extensively to t ransportl iquids and gases such as water , pe t roleum

and natura l gas for an uninterrupted f low.Water su pplied thr ough pipelines is fam iliar

to all. Cooking gas or LPG is su pp lied th rou gh

deep inside the continent to Mont real. But here

goods have to be t rans-shipped to smal ler

vesse ls du e to the presen ce of rapids. Cana ls

have been cons t ruc ted up to 3 .5 m deep to

avoid th ese.

The Miss i s s ipp i Wat erwa ys

Th e Miss issippi-Ohio waterway conn ects th e

inter ior par t of U.S.A. with th e Gu lf of Mexico

in th e south. Large s teamers can go through

this rou te up to Minn eapolis.

AIR TRANSPORAIR TRANSPORAIR TRANSPORAIR TRANSPORAIR TRANSPORTTTTT

A i r t r a n s p o r t i s t h e f a s t e s t m e a n s o f

tran sporta tion, bu t it is very costly. Being fas t,

i t is preferred b y pas sen gers for long-distan ce

travel. Valu ab le cargo can be m oved r ap idly ona world-wide sca le. It is often th e on ly mea n s

to reach inaccess ible areas . Air tran sport h asbrou ght a bou t a conn ectivity revolu tion in th e

world. The frict ions created b y mou nta in ous

sn ow fields or inh ospitable desert terrains ha vebeen overcome. Th e accessibility ha s increa sed.

The a i rp lane b r ings va r i ed a r t i c l e s to theEskimos in Northern Canada unhindered by

the frozen groun d. In the Himalayan r egion, th e

rout es are often obstru cted due to lan dslides,avalanch es or h eavy sn ow fall. At su ch t imes ,

air tra vel is th e only alterna tive to reach a p lace.Airways also ha ve great st ra tegic im porta n ce.

Th e air strikes b y U.S. an d British forces in Iraq

bea rs t e s t imony to th i s fac t . The a i rways

n etwork is expand ing very fas t .

Fig . 8 .1 5 : An Ae rop la ne a t S a ls bu rg Ai rp or t

The manufacturing of aircrafts and their

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pipelines in m an y part s of th e world. Pipelines

can also be u sed t o tran sport liqu idified coal .

In New Zealan d, m ilkis b eing su pplied th rough

pipelines from farm s to factories.In U.S.A. there is a dense network of oil

p ipe l ines f rom the p roduc ing a reas to thecons u ming areas. Big Inch is one su ch fam ouspipelin e, wh ich carries petr oleu m from th e oil

wells of the Gu lf of Mexico to th e North-ea st ernStates. About 17 per cent of al l freight per

tonn e-km. is carr ied th rou gh pipelines in U.S.A.

Fig . 8 .1 7 : Pip eli nes t ra ns p or t in g na t ura l ga s

in Ukraine

In Europe, Russia, West Asia and India

pipel ines are used to connect oi l wel ls to

refineries, and to ports or domestic markets.Turkmenistan i s cent ra l Asia has extended

pipelines to Iran an d also to parts of China .

The proposed Iran-India via Paki s t anin terna tiona l oil an d n atu ral gas pipeline will

be th e longest in th e world.

COMMUNICACOMMUNICACOMMUNICACOMMUNICACOMMUNICATIONSTIONSTIONSTIONSTIONS

Human beings have used different methodslong-distance communications of which the

telegraph and the telephone were important .

T h e t e l e g r a p h w a s i n s t r u m e n t a l i n t h ecolonisa tion of th e Am erican West. Du ring th e

early an d m id-twentieth centu ry, the AmericanTelegraph and Telephone Company (AT&T)

en joyed a m on opoly over U.S.A.s teleph on e

indu stry. In fact, th e teleph one becam e a criticalfactor in th e urb an isation of America. Firm s

c e n t r a l i s e d t h e i r f u n c t i o n i n g a t c i t y -

hea dqu arters an d located th eir bra nch offices

in sm aller towns. Even today, th e telephon e is

th e most comm only u sed m ode. In developing

Fig . 8 .1 6 : Ma jor Ai rp ort s

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coun tries, th e u se of cell phones, ma de poss ible

by sa tellites, is importan t for r u ra l conn ectivity.

Today the re i s a phenomena l pace o f

developmen t. The first ma jor br eakth rough is

th e u se of optic fiber cab les (OFC). Faced with

m oun ting competition, teleph one compa n ies allover the world soon u pgraded th eir copper cable

sys tem s to includ e optic fiber cab les. Th eseallow large qu an tities of da ta to be tra n sm itted

ra pidly, secu rely, an d ar e virtu ally erro r -free.

With t h e digitisa tion of informa tion in th e 1990 s,t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s l o w l y m e r g e d w i t h

comp u ters to form integrated n etworks term edas Internet .

Satel l ite Com m unicat ion

Toda y In tern et is th e lar gest electron ic n etworkon th e planet conn ecting ab out 1 ,000 m illion

people in more than 100 cou ntr ies .

Sat el l it es t ouc h human l iv es in manySat el l it es t ouc h human l iv es in manySat el l it es t ouc h human l iv es in manySat el l it es t ouc h human l iv es in manySat el l it es t ouc h human l iv es in many

w ays w ays w ays w ays w ays .Ever y t imeyouuse a cel l phone t oca l l a f r iend ,send an SMS or w at ch a

popul ar pr ogr ammeoncabletelevision.Youar e usingsat e l l it e communicat ion.sat e l l it e communicat ion.sat e l l it e communicat ion.sat e l l it e communicat ion.sat e l l it e communicat ion.

C o m m u n i c a t i o n t h r o u g h s a t e l l i t e s

emerged as a new a rea in communica t iontechn ology since th e 197 0s after U.S.A. an d

former U.S.S.R. pioneered space research.

Art i f ic ia l sa te l l i tes , now, are successful lydep loyed in t h e earth s orb it to conn ect even

th e remote corn ers of th e globe with lim ited on-

site verification. These h ave rend ered th e un itcost an d t ime of comm u nication invariant in

terms of distan ce. This m ean s it costs th e sam eto communicate over 500 km as i t does over

5,000 km via satellite

India has a lso made great s t r ides in

sa tellite developmen t. Aryabh att was lau nch ed

on 19 Apr i l 1979 , Bhaska r - I in 1979 and

Rohini in 1980 . On 18 Ju ne 1981, APPLE

(Arian Passenger Payload Experiment) was

l a u n c h e d t h r o u g h A r i a n r o c k e t . B h a sk a r ,Challenger and INSAT I-B have made long-

distan ce comm u nication, television an d ra diove ry e f fec t ive . Today wea the r fo recas t ing

th rough television is a boon.

Cyber Space Inte rne t

C y b e r s p a c e i s t h e w o r l d o f e l e c t r o n i ccomputerised space.It i s encompass ed by the

Inter n et s u ch a s th e World Wide Web (www).

In simple words, i t is the electronic digital

w o r l d f o r c o m m u n i c a t i n g o r a c c e s s i n ginforma t ion over comp u ter n e tworks withou tphys ica l movement o f the sender and the

receiver. . . It is a lso r eferred to a s th e Inter n et .

Cybersp ace exists everywh ere. It ma y be inan office, sa iling boa t, flyin g plan e a n d virtu ally

anywhere .

The s peed a t which th is electronic network

has spread is u nprecedented in h um an h istory.

There were less th an 50 m illion Intern et u sers

in 1 995 , abou t 400 million in 20 00 A.D. an d

over on e billion in 20 05 . Th e n ext billion u sers

are to be a dded b y 2010. In th e las t five years

there h as been a sh ift am ong global users from

U . S . A . t o t h e d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s . T h e

percenta ge sha re of U.S.A. ha s dropped from

66 in 199 5 to only 25 in 200 5. Now th e majorityof th e wor lds u se r s a r e in U .S .A. , U .K. ,

German y, J apan , China an d India .

As bil l ions use the Internet each year,cyberspace wi l l expand the con tempora ry

economic and s ocial space of hu ma ns throu ghe - m a i l , e - c o m m e r c e , e - l e a r n i n g a n d

e-governance . In te rne t toge the r w i th fax ,

television an d ra dio will be access ible to more

an d more people cutting across place an d time.

It is these modern commu nicat ion systems,

more than t ranspor t a t ion , tha t has made the

con cept of globa l village a rea lity.

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EXERCISESEXERCISESEXERCISESEXERCISESEXERCISES

1 . Choose the r ight answer f rom the four al ternat ives given below.

(i) Th e Tr a n s C on t in e n t a l St u a r t H igh w a y r u n s b e tw ee n

(a ) Da r win a n d Me lb ou r n e

(b ) E dm on t on a n d An c h or a ge

(c ) Va n c ou v er a n d S t. J o h n s C it y

(d ) Ch en gd u an d Lh a sa

(i i) Which count ry has the h ighes t dens i ty of r a ilway ne twork?

(a ) Br a zil (c) C a n a d a

(b ) U.S .A (d ) Ru s s ia

(iii) Th e Big Tr u n k R ou t e r u n s t h r ou g h

(a ) Th e Me d it er r a n ea n In d ia n o ce a n

(b ) Th e No rt h At la n t ic Oc ea n

(c ) Th e S ou t h At la n t ic Oc ea n

(d ) Th e No rt h P a cific O ce a n

(iv) The Big Inch p ipe line t ranspo r t s

(a ) Milk (c) Wa t er

(b ) Liqu id pet roleu m ga s (LGP) (d ) Pet roleu m

(v) Which one pa i r of the fo llowing p laces i s linked by Chan nel Tun nel?

(a ) Lon don Ber lin (c) Ber lin Pa r is(b ) Pa r is Lon don (d ) Ba rcelon a Ber lin

2 . Answer the fol lowing quest ions in about 30 words.

(i) Wh a t a r e t h e p ro b le m s o f r oa d t r a n s p o r t in m o u n t a in o u s , d e s er t a n d

flood prone regions?

(ii) Wh a t is a t r a n s c on t in e n t a l r a ilw a y?

(iii) Wha t a r e t he advan t ages o f w a t er tr anspo r t ?

3 . Answer the fol lowing quest ions in not more than 150 words.

(i) E luc ida t e t he s t a t em en t In a w e ll m anaged t r anspo r t sy s tem , va r ious

modes complement each other.

(ii) Wh i ch a r e t h e m a jo r r egio n s o f t h e w or ld h a v in g a d e n s e n e t w or k o f

a i r w ays .

(i ii) What a r e the modes by which cyber space will expan d the contemporary

economic and soc ia l space of humans .

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