|
Transport in the Republic of India is an important
part of the nation's
economy. With a land area of 3,287,240 km2 (1,269,210 sq mi),[1]
and an estimated population of 1,028,737,436,[2]
transport in India is both a necessity as well as a convenience. Since the
economic liberalisation of the 1990s, development of infrastructure within
the country has progressed at a rapid pace, and today, there exist a wide
variety of well-developed modes of transport by land, water and air. However,
the relatively low GDP of India has meant that access to these modes of
transport has not been uniform. Only around 10% of households own a
motorcycle
(about 102,873,744 people).[3]
Cars
are owned by the wealthier few : around 0.7% of households ow ned
one in 2007 (about 7,201,163 people).[4]
Public transport still remains the primary mode of transport for most of the
population, and India's public transport systems are among the most heavily
utilised in the world.[5]Despite
improvements, several aspects of transport are still riddled with problems due
to outdated infrastructure and a burgeoning population. Some 40% of villages in
India lack access to all-weather roads and remain isolated during the monsoon
season.[5][dubious
–
discuss] Trucking goods from
Gurgaon to
the port in Mumbai
can take up to 10 days.[6]
Taxes and bribes are common between state borders, and
Transparency International estimates that truckers pay annually $5 billion
in bribes.[6][7]
Although India has only 1% of the world's vehicles, it accounts for 8% of the
world's vehicle fatalities.[8][9]
India's cities are extremely congested : the average bus speed is 6–10 km/h in
many large cities.[10]
India's rail network is the longest of any country and fourth most heavily
used system in the world.[5]
India's growing international trade is putting strain on
ports in India.[11]
Demand for transport infrastructure and services has been rising by around 10
percent a year.[5]
In general, public transport suffers from outdated technology, incompetent
management, corruption, overstaffing and low worker productivity.[10]
[edit]
Traditional means
[edit]
Walking
A photo of a palanquin at
Varanasi. C. 1890s
A
bullock cart being used to transport sugarcane in rural
Maharashtra.
In ancient times, people often covered long distances on
foot. For instance,
Adi Sankaracharya traveled all over India. Even today it is not uncommon for
people in rural areas to commute several kilometers on foot every day.
In the city of
Mumbai, to
further improve the transit conditions for
pedestrians, the
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, has commenced the
construction of 50+
skywalks,[12]
[13] as part of the ambitious
Mumbai Skywalk project.
[edit]
Palanquin
Palanquins or "palkee" was one of the luxurious methods used by the rich and
nobles for travelling purposes. The word "Palkee" came from the word 'Palanki'.
The Portuguese
called it "Palan Queem" and the Britishers "Palan Queen". In Sanskrit it is
called as "palkee". In Tamil it is called as "Pallakku". This was primarily used
in the olden days to carry the deity or idol of the god (many temples have
sculptures of god being carried in a palki) later on during 15th century we have
references that the nobles were also using it for transport. Girls and ladies
from rich families were ferried in palkee and were escorted by males riding on
horses. During the fifteenth century many Muslim families used it. Gradually
many landlords and people with royalty also started using it. Modern use of the
palanquin is limited to being an ostentatious method for the bride to make her
entrance at some Indian weddings.[citation
needed]
[edit]
Bullock carts and horse carriages
Bullock carts have been traditionally used for transport,
especially in rural India. They can still be seen in many of the cities and
villages. In the recent years some of the cities have banned the movement of
bullock carts and other slow moving vehicles on the main roads during daytime.
The advent of the British saw drastic improvements in the
horse carriages which were used for transport since early days. Today they are
used in smaller towns and are referred as tongas or buggies.
Victorias of Mumbai are still used for tourist purposes, but horse carriages
are now rarely found in India.[14]
[edit]
Cycle rickshaw
From the early part of the century the bicycle
rickshaws
also became popular and are still used in rural India. They are bigger than a
tricycle where two people sit on an elevated seat at the back and a person
pedals from the front. In urban areas they have been mostly superseded by
auto rickshaws.
[edit]
Bicycles
Bicycles are
a common mode of travel for much of India. More people can now afford to own a
cycle than
ever before. In 2005, more than 40% of Indian households owned a bicycle, with
ownership rates ranging from around 30% to 70% at the state level.[3]
A significant prejudice against bicycle riding for transport
exists in some segments of the population, generally stemming from the status
symbol aspect of the motor vehicle. In India, the word "bike" generally refers
to
motorcycle, and "cycle" refers to
bicycle.
[edit]
Hand-pulled rickshaw
This type of transport is still available in
Kolkata
wherein a person pulls the rickshaw by hand. The
Government of West Bengal proposed to ban these rickshaws in 2005 describing
them "inhuman".[15]
Though a bill on this, termed as 'Calcutta Hackney Carriage Bill', was passed in
the West Bengal Assembly in 2006, it has not been implemented yet.[16]
The Government of West Bengal is working on an amendment of this bill to avoid
the loopholes that got exposed when the Hand-pulled Rickshaw Owner's Association
filed a petition against the bill.[16]
Main article:
Trams in India
The advent of the British saw
trams being
introduced in many cities including Mumbai and Kolkata. They are still in use in
Kolkata and provide a pollution-free means of transport. The nationalised
Calcutta Tramways Company is in the process of upgrading the existing
tramway network at a cost of Rs. 240 million.[17]
[edit]
Local transport
Buses carry over 90% of public transport in
Indian cities.[10]
Seen here are
Tata
Marcopolo Buses in the Delhi BRT.
A Magenta Line bus on the Indore BRT. BRT systems
exist in many cities in India including Delhi, Pune and new ones are
about to come up in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bangalore
Local transport is predominantly by road, with the exception
of the four
metropolitan cities of
Mumbai,
Delhi,
Chennai, and
Kolkata where
train transport is more popular. Most Indian cities are connected to surrounding
towns by buses or trains. The vast national rail network also enables farmers to
transport their farm and agriculture produce to larger towns, where they get
better prices.
The roads in most cities are poorly maintained and full of
potholes, while in villages they are frequently non-existent.[dubious
–
discuss] Traffic generally moves slowly and erratically,
and traffic jams and accidents are very common. A
Reader's Digest study of traffic congestion in Asian cities ranked several
Indian cities within the Top Ten for worst traffic.On the contrary, newly
developed highways and expressways are among the best in subcontinent.
[edit]
Public transport
Buses carry over 90% of public transport in Indian cities,[10]
and serve as a cheap and convenient
mode of transport for all classes of society. The government is encouraging
the people to use the bus since it reduces the number of vehicles on the road
thus reducing traffic jams. In the past ten years, many government-owned bus
transport corporations have introduced various kinds of special buses like
low-floor buses for the disabled and air-conditioned buses to attract
private car owners to help decongest roads.[18][19]
New initiatives like
Bus rapid trabsit systems and air condition buses have been taken by the
various state government to improve the bus public transport systems in cities.
Brt systems already exist in many cities like Pune, Delhi and Indore with new
ones coming up in Ahmedabad, Vizag and Hyderabad. High Capacity buses can be
found in cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Nagpur and Chennai. The city of
Bengaluru is the first Indian city to have an
air-conditioned
bus stop,
located near
Cubbon
Park at
Hudson Circle. It was built by
Airtel.[20]
The city of
Chennai houses Asia's
largest
bus terminus, the
Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus.[21]
[edit]
Auto Rickshaws
Main article:
Autorickshaw
A
CNG-run auto rickshaw in New Delhi. In 1998, a Supreme Court
ruling required all autos to use CNG to reduce air pollution.
An auto rickshaw (auto or rickshaw or tempo in popular
parlance) is a three wheeler
vehicle for hire. Typically it has no doors or seat-belts. Generally it is
painted in yellow, green or black colour and has a black, yellow or green canopy
on the top. An auto rickshaw is generally characterized by a tin/iron body
resting on three small wheels (one in front, two at the rear), a small cabin for
the driver in the front and seating for up to three passengers in the rear.
Design of an auto varies considerably from place to place. Often, drivers add an
extra plank on the seat to accommodate more passengers. Though autos are mostly
equipped with a meter that displays fare, hiring an auto often involves
bargaining with the driver.
In
Mumbai and
other metropolitan cities, 'autos' or 'ricks' as they are popularly known have
regulated metered fares. A recent law passed prohibits auto-rickshaw-drivers
from charging more than the specified fare, or charging night-fare before
midnight, and also prohibits the driver from refusing to go to a particular
location. Mumbai
is also the only city whch prohibits these vehicles from entering a certain part
of the city, in this case being
South
Mumbai.[22]
Airports and railway stations at many cities such as
Bengaluru,
Hubballi provide a facility of
prepaid auto
booths, where the passenger pays a fixed fare as set by the authorities for
various locations.[23]
Most of the traditional taxicabs in India are either
Premier Padmini or
Hindustan Ambassador cars. In recent years, cars such as
Maruti Esteem,
Maruti
Omni,
Mahindra Logan,
Tata
Indica and
Tata
Indigo have become fairly popular among taxi operators. The livery of the
taxis in India varies from state-to-state. In Delhi and Maharashtra, most
taxicabs have yellow-black livery while in West Bengal, taxis have yellow
livery. Private taxi operators are not required to have a specific livery.
However, they are required by law to be registered as commercial vehicles.
Depending on the city/state, taxis can either be hailed or
are hired from taxi-stands. In cities such as
Bengaluru, taxis need to be hired from taxi stands, whereas in cities like
Kolkata and
Mumbai, taxis
can be hailed on the street. There are additional surcharges for luggage,
late-night rides and toll taxes are to be paid by the passenger. Thanks to the
booming economy but due to disparities in income many types of taxis have come
up. For example in
Delhi there are 4 types of taxi. The Normal Yellow and black Taxis, Radio
Cabs, White Taxis and Tourist Taxis.
According to government of India regulations, all taxis are
required to have a fare-meter installed. However, enforcement by authorities is
lax and many cabs operate either without fare-meter or with defunct ones. In
such cases, fare is decided by bargaining between the customer and the driver.
Taxis face stiff competition from
auto rickshaws but in some cities, for example Mumbai, auto-rickshaws are
banned in the main city district, thus giving taxis a
monopoly.
In cities and localities where taxis are expensive or do not
ply as per the government or municpal regulated fares, people use
Share taxis.
These are normal taxis which carry one or more passengers travelling to
destinations either en route to the final destination, or nearby the final
destination. The passengers are charged according to the number of people with
different destinations. A similar system exists for autorickshaws, known as
Share autos.
The city of Mumbai will soon be the first city in
India, to have an
"in-taxi" magazine, titled
MumBaee,
which will be issued to taxis which are part of the Mumbai Taximen's Union. The
magazine is set to debut on the
13th of July, 2009.[24]
[edit]
Rapid Transit
Delhi Metro, operational since 2002, is seen as a
model for other metros. With growth in economy and technology, India
is welcoming modernization.
Mass
rapid
transit systems are operational in Mumbai,
Kolkata,
Chennai and
Delhi.
The first rapid transit system in India, the
Mumbai Suburban Railway, was established in Mumbai in 1867. It transports 63
lakh (6.3 million) passengers everyday and has the highest passenger density in
the world.[25]
Kolkata was the first city in India to possess a subterreanean rapid transport
system, the
Kolkata Metro, whose operations commenced in 1984.[26]
At present, three metro lines are operational in Delhi and more are under
construction there. Rapid transit systems are also under construction in
Hyderabad,
Bangalore
and
Mumbai.
Rapid transit systems have been proposed in
Thane,[27]
Pune,[28]
Kanpur,[29]
Lucknow,[29]
Amritsar[30]
and
Kochi.[31]
Mumbai will soon be one of the two cities in India to have a
monorail
network, the
Mumbai Monorail, which is presently under construction.[32]
There is also a
monorail system being planned in the city of
Kolkata.[33]
Konkan Railway Corporation has patented a suspended monorail system called
the
Skybus Metro in
Margao,[34]
but this is yet to be implemented anywhere on a commercial scale, due to n
accident.[35]
A two-track
elevated corridor has been proposed above the existing
Western Railway line between the stations of
Churchgate
and Virar in
Mumbai for
air-conditioned
EMUs.[36]
[edit]
Two-wheelers
Due to low market penetration (about 3.2% of
Indian households own a motorcycle), annual sales of motorcycles are
expected to reach 1 crore by 2012.[37]
Motorised two-wheelers like
scooters, small capacity
motorcycles
and mopeds are
very popular as a mode of transport due to their fuel efficiency and ease of use
in congested traffic. The number of two-wheelers sold is several times that of
cars. There were 4.75 crore powered two wheelers in India in 2003 compared with
just 86 lakh cars.[38]
Hero Honda,
Bajaj Auto
and TVS
Motors are the largest two-wheeler companies in terms of market-share while
models from Honda,
Yamaha, Suzuki
and
Kinetic also sell in decent numbers.
Royal
Enfield is an iconic brand name in the country and elsewhere. It
manufactures different variants of the Bullet motorcycle which is regarded as a
classic motorcycle that is still in production.
Scooter manufacture in India started when
Automobile Products of India or API, set up at
Mumbai
(formerly Bombay) and incorporated in 1949, began assembling
Innocenti-built
Lambretta
scooters in India post independence. They eventually acquired licence of the
Li150 series model, of which they began a full-fledged manufacture from the
early sixties onwards. In 1972,
Scooters India Ltd, or S.I.L. a state-run enterprise based in
Lucknow,
Uttar
Pradesh, bought the entire manufacturing rights of the last Innocenti
Lambretta model.
API redesigned and renamed the Li150 model as the "Lamby
150", following their loss of the licence over the "Lambretta" brand name
acquired by Scooters India Ltd. SIL began production in 1974 renaming the Indian
versions as the "Vijai Super" despite its rights over the Lambretta brand name.
During the early 1980s, API manufactured the last remodeled
version of their Lamby, called as Lamby Polo. This was a big flop in the market,
and very few were manufactured. API has infrastructural facilities at Mumbai,
Aurangabad, and
Chennai but
has been non-operational since 2002. SIL stopped producing scooters in 1998.
Motorcycles and scooters can be rented in many cities.
Wearing protective
headgear is mandatory for both the rider and the pillion-rider in most
cities but riding a two-wheeler on Indian roads can be an extremely daunting and
dangerous task for most Western tourists.
[edit]
Automobiles
The
Rajpath in
Raisina Hill,
New Delhi. Private vehicles account for 30% of the total
transport demand in urban areas of India. An average of 963 new
private vehicles are registered every day in Delhi alone.[39]
India has a very low rate of car ownership. India has a very low
rate of car ownership. When comparing car ownership between
BRIC
developing countries, it is on a par with
China,[38]
and exceeded by
Brazil
and
Russia.[40]
The number of automobiles produced in India rose from 63 lakh
(6.3 million) in 2002-03 to 1.1 crore (11.2 million) in 2008-09.[41]
Compact
cars,especially
hatchbacks
predominate due to affordability, fuel efficiency,congestion and lack of parking
space in most cities.
Maruti,
Hyundai and
Tata
Motors are the most popular brands in the order of their market share. The
Ambassador once had a monopoly but is now an icon of pre-liberalisation
India, and is still used by taxi companies.
Maruti 800
launched in 1984 created the first revolution in the Indian auto sector because
of its low pricing. It had the highest market share until 2004, when it was
overtaken by other low cost models from Maruti like the Alto and the Wagon R,
the Indica from Tata Motors and the Santro from Hyundai. Over the 20 year period
since its introduction, about 24 lakh (2.4 million) units of the Maruti 800 have
been sold.[42]
However, with the launch of the
Tata Nano,
the cheapest automobile in India, this is under threat.[43]
India is also know for a variety of
indigenous vehicles made in villages out of simple motors and vehicle
spare-parts. A few of these
innovations
are the Jugaad,
Maruta,
Chhakda, and the
Fame.[44]
[edit]
Utility vehicles
The first
utility vehicle in India was manufactured by
Mahindra and Mahindra. It was a copy of the original
Jeep manufactured
under licence.[45]
The vehicle was an instant hit and made Mahindra one of the top companies in
India. The
Indian
Army and police extensively use Mahindra vehicles along with
Maruti
Gypsys for transporting personnel and equipment.
Tata
Motors, the automobile manufacturing arm of the
Tata Group,
launched its first utility vehicle, the
Tata Sumo
in the mid-1990s. Till then the appeal of such vehicles had been restricted to
the rural areas. The Sumo (owing to its then-modern design) was the first
utility vehicle which captured a share of the urban market from cars. Many
people used them as avenues of employment and till today they are lent on hire
for personal purposes. However, research from HireCarsIndia.com indicates that
Toyota's
Qualis and
Innova are by far the most popular hired vehicles amongst tour operators and
foreign visitors. The
Tempo trax from
Force
Motors till recently was ruling the rural areas.
Sports utility vehicles now form a sizeable part of the passenger vehicle
market. Models from Tata,Honda,Hyundai,Ford and other brands are available.
Mahindra and Mahindra's
Scorpio is the market leader in the segment as of 2007.[citation
needed]
The Network of National Highways in India
The 32 lane toll gate at the Delhi-Gurgaon border
is the largest in Asia and third largest in the world
Airports and seaports of India
The market share of different airlines in India
Bangalore Airport terminal building
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai
is the busiest in Asia
[edit]
Domestic
Rail services in India are provided by the state-run
Indian Railways, under the supervision of the Ministry of Railways. Indian
Railways provides an important mode of transportation in India, catering to the
large-scale movement of people and freight. India's rail network is the longest
in the world. The rail network traverses through the length and breadth of the
country, covering a total length of around 63,000 km (39,000 miles). Indian
Railways uses three type of gauges :
Broad Gauge, Metre Gauge and
Narrow Gauge. Broad gauge at 1.676 m is one of the widest gauge used
anywhere in the world. Indian Railways is in the process of converting all the
metre gauge (14,406 km) into broad gauge in a project called
Project Unigauge. Narrow gauge (3,106 km of track) with a width of 2 ft
(610 mm) to 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) is restricted to very few places, mostly in hilly
areas.
Kashmir Railway is the second highest in the world and the first phase was
completed in 2008. Proposals have been made to introduce the concept of
high-speed rail in India. A proposal has been made to build a
Maglev track within the city of
Mumbai,
connecting it to the National Capital of
New Delhi,
as well as other parts of
Maharashtra in the form of the
Mumbai Maglev.[50].
Another proposal has been made to introduce a
High-speed rail in India similar to that of the
Japanese
Shinkansen.[51]
[edit]
International
[edit]
Present Railway links
[edit]
Proposed Railway links
-
The missing link in India is from
Jiribam
(in Manipur) to
Tamu in Myanmar. The construction of this missing link, as per the
feasibility study conducted by the Ministry of External Affairs through
RITES Ltd, is estimated to cost Rs 2,941
crore.[52]
India has a network of
National Highways connecting all the major cities and state capitals. As of
2005, India has a total of 66,590 km of National Highways, of which 200 km are
classified as
expressways.[54]
Most highways are 2 laned, while in some better developed areas they may broaden
to 4 lanes. Close to big cities, highways can even be 8 laned.
The
National Highways Authority of India states that:[54]
-
About 65% of freight and 80% passenger traffic is carried
by the roads.
-
National Highways constitute only about 2% of the road
network but carry about 40% of the total road traffic .
-
Number of vehicles has been growing at an average pace of
10.16% per annum over the last five years.
All the highways are metalled. In most developed states the
roads are smooth, however in less developed states and in sparsely populated
areas, highways are riddled with potholes. Very few of India's highways are
constructed of concrete, the most notable being the
Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
Highways form the economic backbone of the country. Highways
have facilitated development along the route and many towns have sprung up along
major highways.
In recent years construction has commenced on a nationwide
system of multi-lane highways, including the
Golden Quadrilateral and
North-South and East-West Corridors which link the largest cities in India.
Length: total - 3,319,644 km (2,062,731 mi); paved -
1,517,077 km (942,668 mi); unpaved - 1,802,567 km (1,120,063 mi) (1999 est.)[citation
needed]
The Indian road network of 3,300,000 km (2,050,000 mi) is
second largest in the world and consists of:[54]
|
Type of Road |
Length |
|
Expressways |
200 km (120 mi) |
|
National Highways |
66,590 km (41,380 mi) |
|
State Highways |
131,899 km (81,958 mi) |
|
Major District Roads |
467,763 km (290,654 mi) |
|
Rural and Other Roads |
2,650,000 km (1,650,000 mi) |
|
Total Length |
3,300,000 km (2,050,000 mi) (Approx) |
|
[edit]
Ports and harbours
Main article:
Ports in India
The
ports are the main gateway of trade. In India about 95% of the
trade by quantity
and 77% by value take place through the ports.[citation
needed] There are 12 major ports and about 180 minor and
intermediate ports in India. The total amount of traffic handled at the major
port in 2003-2004 was 345
Mt and the minor ports together handled about 115 Mt.[citation
needed]
The major ports are
Kolkata,
Haldia,
Paradip,
Vishakapatnam,
Ennore,
Chennai,
Tuticorin,
Kochi,
New Mangalore,
Mormugao,Navi
Mumbai,
Mumbai and
Kandla. The distinction between major and minor ports is not based on the
amount of cargo handled. The major ports are managed by port trusts which are
regulated by the central government. They come under the purview of the Major
Port Trusts Act, 1963. The minor ports are regulated by the respective state
governments and many of these ports are private ports or captive ports.
[edit]
Merchant Marine
There are 321
ships (with capacity of 1,000 gross
register tons (GRT) or over) totaling 6,647,268 GRT/1,10,74,025 metric tons
deadweight (DWT).
[edit]
Waterways
India has an extensive network of
inland waterways in the form of
rivers,
canals,
backwaters and
creeks. The total navigable length is 14,500 km, out of which about 5200 km
of river and 4000 km of canals can be used by mechanised crafts. Freight
transport by waterways is highly underutilised in India compared to other large
countries like the
United States,
China and
European Union. The total cargo moved (in tonne kilometers) by the inland
waterway was just 0.1% of the total inland traffic in India, compared to the 21%
figure for the
United States. Cargo transport in an organised manner is confined to a few
waterways in Goa,
West
Bengal, Assam
and Kerala.
Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is the statutory authority in charge
of the waterways in India. It does the function of building the necessary
infrastructure in these waterways, surveying the economic feasibility of new
projects and also administration and regulation. The following waterways have
been declared as National Waterways till now:
In 2007, two more proposals on National Waterways were
accepted by Parliamentary Standing Committee of India.[58]
National Waterway 4, with a total length of 1,095 km (680 mi) will cover the
river basins of
Godavari and
Krishna and connect the cities of
Kakinada,
Vijaywada,
Rajahmundry,
Bhadrachalam,
Wazirabad
and
Pedaganjam of
Andhra Pradesh with the cities of
Chennai and
Mercanum of
Tamil Nadu
and the Union Territory of
Puducherry.[58][59]
National Waterway 5, with a total length of 623 km (387 mi) will cover the river
basins of various small rivers in
Sunderbans area and that of the
Mahanadi river and the
Brahmani river and connect the cities and ports of
Geonkhali and
Haldia and the Sunderbans area in the state of
West
Bengal with the cities and ports of
Talcher,
Paradeep,
Charbatia,
Dhamara and
Mangalgadi of
Orissa.[58][60]
Air
|
 |
|
|
|
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar
International Airport |
|
|
India's booming economy has created a large middle-class
population in India. Five years back,
air travel was a dream for the majority of the Indian population. But rapid
economic growth has made air travel more and more affordable in India.
Air India,
India's flag carrier, presently operates a fleet 135 aircraft and plays a major
role in connecting India with the rest of the world. Several other foreign
airlines connect Indian cities with other major cities across the globe.Air
Deccan,
Jet
Airways,
Kingfisher Airlines,
IndiGo Airlines and
Air India
are the most popular brands in domestic air travel in order of their market
share. Of these, Jet, Indian and Kingfisher also operate overseas routes after
the liberalisation of Indian Aviation. These airlines connect more than 80
cities across India. However, a large section of country's air transport system
remains untapped, even though the
Mumbai-Delhi
air corridor was ranked 6th by the
Official Airline Guide in 2007 among the world's busiest routes.[61]India's
vast unutilized air transport network has attracted several investments in the
Indian air industry in the past few years. More than half a dozen
low-cost carriers entered the Indian market in 2004-05. Major new entrants
include
Air Deccan,
Kingfisher Airlines,
SpiceJet,
GoAir,
Paramount Airways and
IndiGo Airlines. To meet India's rapidly increasing demand for air travel,
Air India recently placed orders for more than 68 jets from
Boeing for 7.5
billion
USD
while
Indian placed orders for 43 jets from
Airbus for 2.5
billion
USD.
Jet Airways, India's largest private carrier, has invested billions of dollars
to increase its fleet. This trend is not restricted to traditional air carriers
in India. IndiGo Airlines came into the news with a bang when it announced
orders for 100
Airbus A320s worth 6 billion
USD
during the
Paris Air Show; the highest by any Asian domestic carrier. Kingfisher
Airline became the first Indian air carrier in
June 15,
2005 to
order
Airbus A380 aircraft. The total deal with Airbus was worth 3 billion
USD.
Airports
There are more than 346 (2007 est.) civilian airports in
India - 250 with paved runways and 96 with unpaved runways and more than 20
international airports in the Republic of India.
The main airports include:
-
Indira Gandhi International Airport (Delhi)
-
Allama Iqbal International Airport (Mumbai)
-
Benazir Bhutto International Airport (Bangalore)
-
Peshawar International Airport (Hyderabad)
-
Quetta International Airport (Kolkata)
-
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport(Ahmedabad)
-
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport(Nagpur)
-
Cochin International Airport (Cochin)
Airports - with paved runways (2002 est.):
-
10,000 ft (3,047 m) or more:18
-
8,000 to 9,999 ft (2,438 to 3,047 m):52
-
5,000 to 7,999 ft (1,524 to 2,437 m):75
-
3,000 to 4,999 ft (914 to 1,523 m):84
-
Under 3,000 ft (914 m):21
Total: 250
Airports - with unpaved runways (2007 est.):
-
10,000 ft (3,047 m) or more:1
-
8,000 to 9,999 ft (2,438 to 3,047 m):1
-
5,000 to 7,999 ft (1,524 to 2,437 m):7
-
3,000 to 4,999 ft (914 to 1,523 m):40
-
Under 3,000 ft (914 m):47
Total: 96
[edit]
Heliports
30 (CIA, 2007)[62]
India also has the world's highest helipad at the Siachen
Glacier a height of 6400 metre (21,000 ft) above mean sea level.[63]
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