CDS Geography · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport
Roads, Railways and Airports
The great highway corridors and the old national highway numbers, India's major road tunnels and a new mountain airport, and the headquarters of the railway zones.
Why this matters
Eleven CDS questions from 2016 to 2025. Four are on railway zone headquarters, three of them four-way matches. The highway questions use the OLD numbers (NH-2, NH-7) that were replaced in 2010, so learn the old routes as well as the new.
Concept 1 of 3: Highway corridors and old highway numbers
Think of India's road network as a box with a cross inside it. The box is the Golden Quadrilateral, joining the four metros. The cross is the North-South and East-West corridors. Older questions still use the highway numbers from before 2010, so a few old routes are worth knowing.
Definition
- The Golden Quadrilateral (about 5,846 km) joins Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. Its arms run through Jaipur and Ahmedabad (Delhi to Mumbai), Pune and Bengaluru (Mumbai to Chennai), Visakhapatnam and Bhubaneswar (Chennai to Kolkata), and Agra, Kanpur, Prayagraj and Varanasi (Kolkata to Delhi).
- The North-South Corridor runs from Srinagar to Kanyakumari; the East-West Corridor from Silchar to Porbandar.
- In 2010 the highways were renumbered: north-south highways now take even numbers and east-west highways odd numbers. NH-44 (Srinagar to Kanyakumari, about 4,100 km) is now the longest.
- Under the old numbers, NH-7 (Varanasi to Kanyakumari) was the longest. It ran through Rewa, Katni and Jabalpur, then Nagpur, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Madurai.
| Old number | Route |
|---|---|
| NH-2 | Delhi, Agra, Allahabad (Prayagraj), KolkataQ CDS 2017 (II): a match of old NH-2, NH-4, NH-7 and NH-8 with their routes. |
| NH-4 | Thane, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai |
| NH-7 | Varanasi, Jabalpur, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Madurai, Kanyakumari |
| NH-8 | Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2025 · CDS (II) 2025 — General Knowledge · Q102Moderate
Example 1 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Roads, Railways and Airports
The Golden Quadrilateral Highway does not pass through which of the following cities ?
1. Bhubaneshwar
2. Jaipur
3. Lucknow
4. Indore
Select the answer using the code given below :
Old numbers in old papers
Questions set from older books use the pre-2010 numbers: NH-2 Delhi to Kolkata, NH-7 Varanasi to Kanyakumari, NH-8 Delhi to Mumbai. Do not answer them with the new numbers.
The quadrilateral skips Lucknow
The Delhi to Kolkata arm of the Golden Quadrilateral runs through Kanpur, Prayagraj and Varanasi, not Lucknow. The Delhi to Mumbai arm runs through Jaipur and Ahmedabad, nowhere near Indore.
Concept 2 of 3: Road tunnels and a mountain airport
Mountain roads close in winter when the passes fill with snow. A tunnel under the pass keeps the road open all year and cuts the distance too. Two tunnels get confused in CDS: one is the longest road tunnel, the other the longest tunnel at a great height.
Definition
- The Atal Tunnel (about 9 km, opened 2020) runs under the Rohtang pass on the Manali to Leh road. It cuts about 46 km from the journey and keeps the Lahaul valley open in winter. It is the longest highway tunnel above 10,000 feet.
- The Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Tunnel (Chenani-Nashri, about 9.3 km, opened 2017) is on the Jammu to Srinagar highway. It was India's longest road tunnel when CDS asked in 2023.
- The Zojila Tunnel on the Srinagar to Leh road, longer than both, was still being built in the mid-2020s.
- Pakyong Airport (opened 2018), near Gangtok, is Sikkim's first airport.
| Project | Key fact |
|---|---|
| Atal Tunnel | Under the Rohtang pass, Manali to Leh road; longest highway tunnel above 10,000 feet |
| Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee (Chenani-Nashri) Tunnel | About 9.3 km, Jammu to Srinagar highway; longest road tunnel in 2023Q CDS 2023 (II): India's longest road tunnel, ahead of the Atal Tunnel. |
| Banihal-Qazigund Tunnel | About 8.5 km under the Pir Panjal, Jammu to Srinagar highway |
| Pakyong Airport | Sikkim's first airport (2018), near GangtokQ CDS 2019 (I): Pakyong is in Sikkim. |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2021 · CDS (II) 2021 — General Knowledge · Q87Easy
Example 2 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Roads, Railways and Airports
The distance between which two cities has been reduced by the Atal Tunnel ?
Longest is not highest
The Chenani-Nashri tunnel was the longest road tunnel (about 9.3 km). The Atal Tunnel (about 9 km) is the longest highway tunnel above 10,000 feet. Check which record the stem asks about, and note that the Zojila tunnel will beat both when it opens.
Concept 3 of 3: Railway zones and their headquarters
Indian Railways is split into zones, each run from a headquarters city. The zone's name usually gives the direction but not the city, and several zones sit in unexpected towns such as Hajipur or Bilaspur. These have to be learnt as a list.
Definition
- Three zones are run from Kolkata: Eastern, South Eastern (at Garden Reach) and Metro Railway. The Kolkata Metro is the only metro that is itself a railway zone.
- Two zones are run from Mumbai: Central and Western.
- The newer zones of 2002 to 2003 sit in smaller cities: East Central (Hajipur), North Central (Prayagraj), West Central (Jabalpur), South East Central (Bilaspur), South Western (Hubballi), North Western (Jaipur), East Coast (Bhubaneswar).
| Zone | Headquarters |
|---|---|
| North Eastern | GorakhpurQ Asked twice: CDS 2016 (II) and 2018 (I). |
| North Central | Prayagraj (Allahabad) |
| East Central | Hajipur (Bihar)Q |
| West Central | Jabalpur |
| South Central | Secunderabad |
| South Eastern | Kolkata |
| South East Central | Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) |
| South Western | Hubballi (Hubli) |
| Metro Railway | KolkataQ CDS 2018 (II): the Metro Railway zone is headquartered in Kolkata. |
| Northeast Frontier | Maligaon (Guwahati) |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2022 · CDS (I) 2022 — General Knowledge · Q71Moderate
Example 3 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Roads, Railways and Airports
Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the code given below the lists :
Code :
| List I (Railway Zone) | List II (Headquarters) |
|---|---|
| A. South-Eastern | 1. Secunderabad |
| B. South-Central | 2. Kolkata |
| C. South-Western | 3. Bilaspur |
| D. South-East-Central | 4. Hubli |
Two railways in Bihar and Chhattisgarh towns
East Central is at Hajipur, not Patna. South East Central is at Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh, not Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh.
South Central or South Western
South Central is run from Secunderabad; South Western from Hubballi. The options often swap these two.
Gorakhpur, not Guwahati
North Eastern Railway is run from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. The railway of the north-east States is Northeast Frontier, run from Maligaon in Guwahati.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (3)
Highway corridors and old highway numbers4 rows
| Old number | Route |
|---|---|
| NH-2 | Delhi, Agra, Allahabad (Prayagraj), KolkataQ CDS 2017 (II): a match of old NH-2, NH-4, NH-7 and NH-8 with their routes. |
| NH-4 | Thane, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai |
| NH-7 | Varanasi, Jabalpur, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Madurai, Kanyakumari |
| NH-8 | Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai |
Road tunnels and a mountain airport4 rows
| Project | Key fact |
|---|---|
| Atal Tunnel | Under the Rohtang pass, Manali to Leh road; longest highway tunnel above 10,000 feet |
| Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee (Chenani-Nashri) Tunnel | About 9.3 km, Jammu to Srinagar highway; longest road tunnel in 2023Q CDS 2023 (II): India's longest road tunnel, ahead of the Atal Tunnel. |
| Banihal-Qazigund Tunnel | About 8.5 km under the Pir Panjal, Jammu to Srinagar highway |
| Pakyong Airport | Sikkim's first airport (2018), near GangtokQ CDS 2019 (I): Pakyong is in Sikkim. |
Railway zones and their headquarters10 rows
| Zone | Headquarters |
|---|---|
| North Eastern | GorakhpurQ Asked twice: CDS 2016 (II) and 2018 (I). |
| North Central | Prayagraj (Allahabad) |
| East Central | Hajipur (Bihar)Q |
| West Central | Jabalpur |
| South Central | Secunderabad |
| South Eastern | Kolkata |
| South East Central | Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) |
| South Western | Hubballi (Hubli) |
| Metro Railway | KolkataQ CDS 2018 (II): the Metro Railway zone is headquartered in Kolkata. |
| Northeast Frontier | Maligaon (Guwahati) |
Watch out for (6)
- Old numbers in old papers→ Highway corridors and old highway numbers
- The quadrilateral skips Lucknow→ Highway corridors and old highway numbers
- Longest is not highest→ Road tunnels and a mountain airport
- Two railways in Bihar and Chhattisgarh towns→ Railway zones and their headquarters
- South Central or South Western→ Railway zones and their headquarters
- Gorakhpur, not Guwahati→ Railway zones and their headquarters
Test yourself on Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport
20 past CDS questions from this chapter, timed at 20 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.