COVER STORY
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First hand impressions of the first 10,000 km on Indian roads on HCVs
Highway Blues Ramesh Kumar It all began on a rainy August afternoon last year when I was marooned at home with flooded Delhi roads denying an opportunity to step out. To kill time, I picked up The Working Group Report on Road Transport for Eleventh Five Year Plan prepared by Planning Commission. “The share of road transport in freight movement which was around 14 per cent in 1950-51 has increased to around 61 per cent while that of railways has fallen from more than fourfifth to less than two-fifth over the same period… During the post reform period (1992-93 to 2004-05) volume of freight (billion tonne km) carried by road grew at an annual average rate of 6.5 per cent compared with a growth of 3.6 per cent in rail freight. Over the years the modal split in freight movement between rail and road has skewed in favour of road,” wrote the expert committee. Is that so? A quick glance at National Highways Authority of
LOGISTICS TIMES July 2011
India data revealed that India boasts of 33 lakh kilometers, second largest in the world. Table A: Indian Road Network Length in Kms
Expressways National Highways State Highways Major District Roads Rural & Other Roads
200 70,934 1,31,899 4,67,763 26,50,000
Source: National Highways Authority of India, 2011
What’s the vehicle population, particularly with reference to freight was the next obvious question. India became the sixth largest motor vehicle/car manufacturer in the world in 2010 and is expected to rise to the fourth position by