An Overview of Road Transport in India

Road network is vital for sustained and inclusive growth of the economy. It facilitates the
movement of passengers and freight across the country. It promotes efficiency in the economy
by minimizing total transportation cost in terms of economies of production, distribution and
consumption. The role of road transport among the different modes of transport is dominant
because of its last mile connectivity or feeder service. In comparison to other modes of transport,
the movement of passenger and freight in India over the years has increasingly shifted towards
road transport sector.

The major modes of transport in India are road, railways, airways, shipping and inland water
ways. Road transport is the dominant mode both in terms of share in passenger and freight
carried and in terms of contribution to the national economy. Road transport provides the basic
infrastructural facilities to both the agricultural and industrial sector of the country.

India has about 58.98 lakh km of road network. This is the second largest road network (after
USA with 68,53,024) in the world. This comprises National Highways, Expressways, State
Highways, Major District Roads, Other District Roads and Village Roads as under:-

Road Types Distance (Km) National Highways

State Highways
National Highways / Expressway 1,32,500 2%
3%

State Highways 1,56,694

Other Roads 56,08,477
Other
Total 58,97,671 Roads
95%

Road Transport has emerged as the dominant segment in India’s transportation sector with a
share of 3.14% in India’s GDP in 2018-19. Easy availability, adaptability to individual needs and
the cost savings are some of the factors which go in favour of road transport. Road transport also
acts as a feeder service to railway, shipping and air traffic.

This is a list of countries by total road network size

Road length
Rank Country
(km)
1 United States 68,53,024
2 India 58,97,671
3 China 48,46,500
4 Brazil 17,51,868
5 Russia 15,29,373
6 Japan 12,15,000
7 Canada 10,42,300
8 France 9,65,446
9 Indonesia 9,50,974
10 Australia 9,20,217
An Overview of Road Transport in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu, a state in South India, has a highly developed, dense, and modern transportation
infrastructure, encompassing both public and private transport. Tamil Nadu has an extensive
road network. The state road network covers about 153 km per 100 km2 area, which is higher
than the country's average road network coverage of 103 km per 100 km2 area. The various types
of roads and their lengths are given below.

Road Types Length (km) State Major district roads

highways 6%
Major district roads 11,288 National
5%
National highways 4,873 highways
2%
Other district roads 36,096
Panchayat roads 1,37,399
Other
State highways 9,384 Panchayat
district
roads
roads
Total (approx) 1,99,04 69% 18%

Road Transport in Fertilizer Industries

The road transport plays a key role in the country’s transport system and facilitates direct
delivery at the customer’s doorstep. It often comprises the first and the last leg in the chain even
where the transportation is predominantly by Railways. Besides, it is the only means of
mechanized transport which is not adequate to meet the demands of fertilizer industry. The
impact of bad roads increases fuel consumption, maintenance cost and decreases the speed of
trucks thereby affecting availability. All fertilizer industries mostly preferred road transport
which is cost effective rather than rail. The following contents explained about road transport.

Trucks in Tamilnadu

Trucks can go almost everywhere. Large or small, they are the most important way that we move
goods. Trucking is a critical mode of transportation for rural India. It carries agricultural, food
products, alcohols, fertilizers, lumber, wood products, paper, pulp, and paperboard articles. It
links farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and service industries, processors, markets, ports,
intermodal and rail.

Trucks are using for move the goods from one place to another place. In Tamilnadu most of the
people buying trucks and rent it for earning money. Many number of people doing lorry business
in India. Tamilnadu is a first rank in doing lorry business in India. Truck owners is also high in
Tamilnadu compared to the other states. Growth of trucks in Tamilnadu given below.

Vehicles Type 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Lorries 199807 209739 226335 232054 236519 249212 259362 255706 247719
N.P Lorries 51977 59428 68745 72469 82027 86927 90135 88971 91106

Total 251784 269167 295080 304523 318546 336139 349497 344677 338825