SSC CGL Geography · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport
Transport and Ports
India's roads, highway corridors and tunnels, its railways and national waterways, and its ports on the two coasts.
Why this matters
Twenty-seven questions in the bank: 13 from the 2023 shifts, 12 from the 2024 shifts and two from the 2025 shifts. They ask a first, a largest or an endpoint: the first train, the corridors' end cities, the satellite port of Mumbai. A list of firsts and endpoints is the page.
Concept 1 of 3: Roads, corridors and tunnels
Definition
The facts:
- India has the world's second largest road network, after the USA. Roads carry about 87% of passenger traffic.
- NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) builds and maintains the national highways. It was set up by an Act of 1988 and began work in 1995.
- North-South corridor: Srinagar to Kanyakumari. East-West corridor: Silchar to Porbandar. They cross at Jhansi.
- Atal Tunnel (2020), under the Pir Panjal range near Rohtang at about 3,000 m, is the longest single-tube highway tunnel at that height; it shortens the Manali to Keylong road.
- Road density depends on terrain and economic development: it is highest in Kerala and low in the hilly North-East.
Practise this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 1 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Transport and Ports
The North-East has low road density
Concept 2 of 3: Railways, waterways and airports
Definition
Railways:
- The first train ran on 16 April 1853 from Bombay to Thane (about 34 km).
- The route length was 67,956 km in 2020. Broad gauge covers most of it.
- Uttar Pradesh has the longest network of any State; hilly Sikkim has almost none.
- Eastern Railway (Kolkata) has the Howrah, Sealdah, Asansol and Malda divisions.
Waterways:
- The National Waterways Act, 2016 declared 111 national waterways.
- NW 1: the Ganga. NW 2: the Brahmaputra. NW 3: the West Coast Canal. NW 5: the East Coast Canal with the Brahmani and Mahanadi delta.
- The India-Bangladesh Protocol route links NW 1 in the mainland with NW 2 in the North-East.
Airports: Mizoram has just one operational airport (Lengpui).
Practise this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 2 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Transport and Ports
Thane, not Pune
Concept 3 of 3: Ports on the two coasts
Definition
The facts:
- West coast: Kandla (Deendayal), Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru (Nhava Sheva), Mormugao, New Mangalore, Kochi.
- East coast: Kolkata with Haldia, Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Tuticorin.
- Jawaharlal Nehru Port is India's largest container port, built as a satellite port to relieve Mumbai. Haldia was built as a subsidiary port to Kolkata.
- About 95% of India's foreign trade by volume goes by sea, and most of the rest by air.
Practise this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 3 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Transport and Ports
Haldia is on the east coast
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)
Watch out for (3)
- The North-East has low road density→ Roads, corridors and tunnels
- Thane, not Pune→ Railways, waterways and airports
- Haldia is on the east coast→ Ports on the two coasts
Test yourself on Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport
20 past SSC CGL questions from this chapter, timed at 12 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.