Transport in South India

Road

South India has an extensive road network with 20,573 km (12,783 mi) of National Highways and 46,813 km (29,088 mi) of State Highways. Bus services are provided by state run transport corporations namely Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation, Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation, Telangana State Road Transport Corporation, Kerala State Road Transport Corporation and Puducherry Road Transport Corporation.

State National Highway [1] State Highway Road density (m/km2) Motor vehicles per 1000 pop.[2]
Andhra Pradesh 7,068 km (4,392 mi) 10,650 km (6,620 mi) 16.50 145
Karnataka 6,294 km (3,911 mi) 20,774 km (12,908 mi) 22.92 182
Tamil Nadu 5,006 km (3,111 mi) 10,764 km (6,688 mi) 37.15 257
Kerala 1,811 km (1,125 mi) 4,341 km (2,697 mi) 37.49 198
Andaman and Nicobar 330 km (210 mi) 38 km (24 mi) N/A 152
Puducherry 64 km (40 mi) 246 km (153 mi) N/A 521
Total 20,573 km (12,783 mi) 46,813 km (29,088 mi)

Rail

Indian Railway zonal map

The Great Southern India Railway Co. was founded in Britain in 1853 and registered in 1859.[3] Construction of track in Madras Presidency began in 1859 and the 80-mile link from Trichinopoly to Negapatam was opened in 1861. The Carnatic Railway founded in 1864, opened a Madras-Arakkonam-Conjeevaram line in 1865. The Great Southern India Railway Company was subsequently merged with the Carnatic Railway Company in 1874 to form the South Indian Railway Company.[4] In 1880, the Great Indian Peninsula Railway established by the British, built a railway network radiating inward from Madras.[5] In 1879, the Madras Railway constructed a railway line from Royapuram to Bangalore and the Maharaja of Mysore established Mysore State Railway to carryout extension from Bangalore to Mysore.[6] Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway was founded on 1 January 1908 by merging the Madras Railway and the Southern Mahratta Railway.[7][8]

On 14 April 1951, the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, the South Indian Railway and the Mysore State Railway were merged to form the Southern Railway to form the first zone of Indian Railways.[9] The South Central zone was created on 2 October 1966 as the ninth zone of Indian Railways and the South Western zone was created on 1 April 2003.[10] Most of the region is covered by the three zones with small portions of coasts covered by East Coast Railway and Konkan Railway. Metro rail is operated by Namma Metro in Bangalore, Chennai Metro in Chennai and Hyderabad Metro in Hyderabad. Chennai MRTS provides suburban rail services in Chennai and was the first elevated railway line in India.[11] The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is a UNESCO World Heritage site.[12]

Sl. No Name of the Railway zone Abbr. Route length
(in Km) 		Headquarters Founded Divisions Major Stations
1. Southern SR 5,098 Chennai 14 April 1951 Chennai,[13] Tiruchirappalli,[14] Madurai,[15] Palakkad,[16] Salem,[17] Thiruvananthapuram[18] Chennai Central, Coimbatore Main, Ernakulam, Erode, Katpadi, Kollam, Kozhikode, Madurai, Mangalore Central, Palakkad, Salem, Thiruvananthapuram Central, Thrissur, Tiruchirappalli, Tirunelveli
2. South Central SCR 5,803 Secunderabad 2 October 1966 Secunderabad,[19] Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Guntakal, Guntur, Nanded Guntur, Nellore, Secunderabad, Tirupati Main, Vijayawada
3. South Western SWR 3,177 Hubli 1 April 2003 Hubli, Bangalore, Mysore, Gulbarga[20] Bangalore City, Hubli, Mysore
4. East Coast ECoR 2,572 Bhubaneswar 1 April 2003 Khurda Road, Sambalpur, Waltair[21] Visakhapatnam
5. Konkan KR 741 Navi Mumbai 26 January 1988 Karwar, Ratnagiri Madgaon

Air

In 1915, Tata Sons started a regular airmail service between Karachi and Madras marking the beginning of air transportation in the southern part of India.[22] In March 1930, a discussion initiated by pilot G. Vlasto led to the founding of Madras Flying Club which became a pioneer in pilot training South India.[23] Air India's first flight was operated between Bombay and Madras via Belgaum in 1954.[24]

There are 9 international airports, 2 customs airports, 15 domestic airports and 11 air bases in South India. Chennai International Airport serves as the regional headquarters of the Airports Authority of India for the southern region of India comprising the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala and the union territories of Puducherry and Lakshadweep.[25] Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi are amongst the top 10 busiest airports in the country.[26][27][28]

The Southern Air Command of Indian Air Force is headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram and the Training Command is headquartered at Bangalore. The Indian Air Force operates nine air bases in Southern India and two in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.[29] The Indian Navy operates airbases at Kochi, Arakkonam, Uchipuli, Vizag, Campbell Bay and Diglipur.[30][31]

State/UT International CustomsNote 1 Domestic Military
Andaman and Nicobar 1 0 0 4
Andhra Pradesh 0 1 5 0
Karnataka 2 0 2 3
Kerala 3 0 0 1
Lakshadweep 0 0 1 0
Puducherry 0 0 1 0
Tamil Nadu 3 1 3 6
Telengana 1 0 3 2
Total 9 2 15 16

^ Restricted international airport

RankNameCityStateIATA CodeTotal
Passengers (2015)
1Kempegowda International AirportBangaloreKarnatakaBLR10,679,004
2Chennai International AirportChennai Tamil Nadu MAA8,845,225
3Rajiv Gandhi International AirportHyderabadTelanganaHYD6,971,931
4Cochin International AirportKochiKeralaCOK4,401,403
5Thiruvananthapuram International AirportThiruvananthapuramKeralaTRV1,987,362
6Kozhikode International AirportKozhikodeKeralaCCJ1,350,695
7Coimbatore International AirportCoimbatoreTamil NaduCJB981,834
8Visakhapatnam AirportVisakhapatnamAndhra PradeshVTZ971,794
9Mangalore International AirportMangaloreKarnatakaIXE937,471
10Tiruchirappalli International AirportTiruchirappalliTamil NaduTRZ744,049
11Madurai AirportMaduraiTamil NaduIXM450,552
12Veer Savarkar International AirportPort BlairAndaman and NicobarIXZ458,231
13Vijayawada AirportVijayawadaAndhra PradeshVGA216,179
14Tirupati AirportTirupatiAndhra PradeshTIR201,985
15Rajahmundry AirportRajahmundryAndhra PradeshRJA120,844

Water

The region is covered by water on three sides and has a long coastline. A total of 89 ports are situated along the coast: Tamil Nadu (15), Karnataka (10), Kerala (17), Andhra Pradesh (12), Lakshadweep (10), Pondicherry (2) and Andaman & Nicobar (23).[32] Major ports include Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Mangalore, Tuticorin, Ennore and Kochi.

Name Cargo Handled
(FY2013–14)		 Vessel Traffic
(FY2012–13)		 Container Traffic
million tonnes % Increase
(over previous FY)		 million tonnes % Increase
(over previous FY)		 '000 TEUs % Increase
(over previous FY)
Visakhapatnam 80.00 -0.91% ↓ 2,066 -16.36% ↓ 263 6.48% ↑
Chennai 51.11 -4.30% ↓ 1,928 -5.63% ↓ 1,468 -4.68% ↓
Mangalore 39.37 6.29% ↑ 1,096 -5.11% ↓ 50 4.17% ↑
Tuticorin 28.64 1.35% ↑ 1,292 -13.40% ↓ 508 6.72% ↑
Ennore 27.34 -52.85% ↓ 475 23.38% ↑ -- --
Kochi 20.89 5.25% ↑ 1,367 -1.09% ↓ 351 4.78% ↑

The Kerala backwaters are a network of interconnected canals, rivers, lakes and inlets, a labyrinthine system formed by more than 900 km of waterways.[33] In the midst of this landscape, there are a number of towns and cities, which serve as the starting and end points of transportation services and backwater cruises.[34]

The Eastern Naval Command and Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy are headquartered at Visakhapatnam and Kochi respectively.[35][36] Indian Navy has its major operational bases in Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Kochi and Karwar in the region.[37][38]

References

  1. ↑ "Basic Road Statistics of India 2014". Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "Road Transport Yearbook 2011–2012". Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India. 2012. p. 115. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Indian Tramway Limited". Herepath's Railway and Commercial Journal 32 (1595): 3. January 1, 1870.
  4. ↑ "Always the second station". The Hindu. 3 July 2006.
  5. ↑ Shyam Rungta (1970). The Rise of Business Corporations in India, 1851–1900. Cambridge U.P. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-521-07354-7. British investment in Indian railway reaches £100m by 1875
  6. ↑ "Origin and development of Southern Railway" (PDF). Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  7. ↑ "Railways". The Cambridge Economic History of India, Vol 2, page 755. Orient Longmans Private Limited. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  8. ↑ "Third oldest railway station in country set to turn 156". Indian Railways. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  9. ↑ "Chapter 1 - Evolution of Indian Railways-Historical Background". Ministry of Railways. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  10. ↑ "About Us". South Central Railway. Retrieved 20 Sep 2012.
  11. ↑ Year Book 2009. Bright Publications. p. 569.
  12. ↑ "Nilgiri Mountain Railway". railtourismindia.com. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  13. ↑ "Chennai Railway Division". Railway Board. Southern Railway zone. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  14. ↑ "Tiruchirappalli Railway Division". Railway Board. Southern Railway zone. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  15. ↑ "Madurai Railway Division". Railway Board. Southern Railway zone. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  16. ↑ "Palakkad Railway Division". Railway Board. Southern Railway zone. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  17. ↑ "Salem Railway Division". Railway Board. Southern Railway zone. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  18. ↑ "Thiruvananthapuram Railway Division". Railway Board. Southern Railway zone. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  19. ↑ "Secunderabad Railway Division". Railway Board. South Central Railway zone. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  20. ↑ "New railway division in Gulbarga to be under SWR". The Hindu. 2014-03-06. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  21. ↑ "Waltair Railway Division". Railway Board. East Coast Railway zone. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  22. ↑ "Civil Aviation". Transport Corporation of India Ltd. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  23. ↑ Ayyappan, V. (21 August 2009). "When Good Old Madras Took Wing". The Times of India (Chennai: The Times Group). Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  24. ↑ "History of Chennai Airport". Office of the Commissioner of Customs. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  25. ↑ "Regional Headquarters". Airports Authority of India. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  26. ↑ "Traffic Statistics-2015(April-September)" (PDF). AAI. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  27. ↑ "Aircraft Movements-2015" (PDF). AAI. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  28. ↑ "Cargo Statistics-2015" (PDF). AAI. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  29. ↑ "Indian Air Force". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
  30. ↑ "Organisation of Southern Naval Command". Indian Navy. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  31. ↑ "ENC Authorities & Units". Indian Navy. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  32. ↑ "List of ports".
  33. ↑ "Austin Pick: A Billion People in a Coconut Shell". Retrieved 28 December 2008.
  34. ↑ "Prime Destinations in Kerala for Backwater Tour". Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  35. ↑ "Vizag based Eastern naval command". Times of India. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  36. ↑ "Southern naval command". Indian Navy. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  37. ↑ "INS Kadamba". Indian Navy. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  38. ↑ "India set to drop anchor off China". Deccan Chronicle. 26 June 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
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