Page 288 - New Medley 4 Semester 2 PDF (Merged)

and cyclones. The total length of all types of roads in our country is

about 66.17 lakh kilometres.

Railways
India has the second largest network of

railways in Asia and the fourth largest in

the world. The first train steamed off from
Bombay (Mumbai) to Thane (34 kilometres
long) in 1853. Since then, it has made a

great progress. It is needed for large-scale

movement of passengers and goods.

The route length of the Indian Railways is Rajdhani Express
more than 68,000 kilometres. They connect most of the towns and cities in

India. The Indian Railways are divided into 18 zones. The width of the track
is of three types : Broad gauge (1.676 metres), Metre gauge (1.0 metre) and

Narrow gauge (0.762 metres).

Very fast trains have also been introduced between important state capitals

and industrial centres. These are called the Rajdhani Express and the
Shatabdi Express.

Local trains run in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Delhi. Metro trains have
been started in Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad

and Ahmedabad. It is pollution-free transport. Mumbai has monorail
service also.

Airways

Air transport is the fastest and costliest means of transport in our country.
Almost every part of India can be reached by aeroplanes. Travel time

has also been reduced by jet aircraft.

Air transport was started in India in 1911. Now it is widely used for

long distance travel. There are special cargo planes, which can carry
perishable goods like fruits, vegetables and flowers to far-off places.

Helicopters are used for short distances. They are used to rescue people
during the times of natural disasters.

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