Transport and CommunicationClass 12 Fundamentals of Human Geography Notes

Transport and Communication

Natural resources, economic activities, and markets are often located in different places. To connect these producing and consuming centers, we rely on transport, communication, and trade. An efficient system of transport and communication is essential for supporting complex systems of production, enabling trade, and improving our quality of life.

While in the past, the methods for transport and communication were often the same (like a messenger on a horse carrying both a person and a message), today they are distinct and specialized fields. Transport provides the physical network through which trade and movement occur.

TRANSPORT

Transport is a service that moves people and goods from one place to another. This movement can happen using humans, animals, or various types of vehicles across different mediums:

• Land: Roads and railways.
• Water: Shipping and waterways.
• Air: Airways.
• Pipelines: A specialized mode for carrying materials like petroleum, natural gas, and liquefied ores.

Transportation is an organized industry that serves the basic needs of society. It includes the routes (like roads and rail tracks), the vehicles, and the organizations that manage loading, unloading, and maintenance. It is also vital for national defense, promoting unity and cooperation among people spread across large areas.

What is a Transport Network?

A transport network is a pattern formed when several places (called nodes) are joined together by a series of routes (called links).

MODES OF TRANSPORTATION

The main modes of transport are land, water, air, and pipelines. Each mode has its own strengths and is chosen based on the type of goods, the cost of transport, and what is available.

• Road transport is best for short distances as it is cheaper, faster, and offers door-to-door service.
• Railways are ideal for moving large volumes of bulky materials over long distances within a country.
• Airways are used for high-value, light, and perishable goods that need to be moved quickly.
• Ocean freighters handle the international movement of most goods.

Land Transport

Most movement of goods and services happens over land. The methods have evolved significantly over time.

1. Early Methods: In the beginning, humans themselves were carriers (e.g., carrying a bride in a palanquin or doli). Later, animals like mules, horses, and camels were used as "beasts of burden."
2. The Wheel: The invention of the wheel made carts and wagons important.
3. The Steam Engine: The transport revolution truly began with the invention of the steam engine in the eighteenth century. The first public railway line opened in 1825 in northern England, and railways quickly became the fastest and most popular transport in the nineteenth century.
4. The Internal Combustion Engine: This invention revolutionized road transport, leading to the development of motor cars and trucks and better-quality roads.

Newer forms of land transport include pipelines, ropeways, and cableways, which are often used on steep mountain slopes where building roads is difficult.

Pack Animals

Animals are still used for transport in many parts of the world.

• Horses are used as draught animals, even in Western countries.
• Dogs and reindeer pull sledges over snow in North America, North Europe, and Siberia.
• Mules are preferred in mountainous regions.
• Camels are used for caravan movement in deserts.
• Bullocks are used for pulling carts in India.

Roads

Road transport is highly economical for short distances. Its biggest advantage is providing door-to-door service. However, roads face challenges:

• Unmetalled roads are simple to build but become unmotorable during the rainy season.
• Metalled roads can also be seriously handicapped during heavy rains and floods.

The quality of roads varies greatly between developed and developing nations due to the high cost of construction and maintenance. Developed countries have high-quality motorways, autobahns (Germany), and interstate highways for speedy movement. The world's total motorable road length is about 15 million km, with North America accounting for 33% of it.

Traffic Flows: As traffic has increased, congestion has become a major problem on city roads. Traffic flow has peaks (high points, like rush hour) and troughs (low points) during the day.

Highways

Highways are metalled roads designed to connect distant places and allow for uninterrupted, high-speed vehicular movement. They are often 80 meters wide and feature separate traffic lanes, bridges, and flyovers.

• North America: Has a high highway density (0.65 km per sq km). The Trans-Canadian Highway links Vancouver (west coast) to St. John's City (east coast). The Alaskan Highway connects Edmonton (Canada) to Anchorage (Alaska).
• South and Central America: The Pan-American Highway will connect the countries of South America, Central America, and U.S.A.-Canada.
• Australia: The Trans-Continental Stuart Highway connects Darwin in the north to Melbourne in the south.
• Russia: A dense highway network exists west of the Urals, with Moscow as the hub. However, due to its vast size, railways are more important than highways in Russia.
• China: Highways connect all major cities. A new highway links Chengdu with Lhasa in Tibet.
• India: The Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) or Super Expressway connects the four major metropolitan cities: New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata.
• Africa: A highway connects Algiers (north) to Conakry (Guinea), and another connects Cairo to Cape Town.

Border Roads

These are roads built along international boundaries. They are strategically important for defense, allowing for the transport of goods to military camps, and for integrating people in remote areas with major cities.

Railways

Railways are a primary mode of land transport for bulky goods and passengers over long distances. Railway gauges (the distance between the rails) vary across countries and are classified as broad (more than 1.5 m), standard (1.44 m), metre gauge (1 m), and smaller gauges.

• Europe: Has one of the most dense rail networks in the world, with about 4,40,000 km of railways. Belgium has the highest density. The Channel Tunnel connects London (England) with Paris (France).
• Russia: Railways account for about 90% of the country's transport, with a dense network west of the Urals.
• North America: Has one of the most extensive rail networks (about 40% of the world's total). Unlike in Europe, railways here are used more for long-distance freight (ores, grains, timber) than for passengers.
• Australia: Has about 40,000 km of railways. The main line runs from Perth (west) to Sydney (east).
• South America: The rail network is densest in the Pampas of Argentina and the coffee-growing region of Brazil. There is only one trans-continental route, linking Buenos Aires (Argentina) with Valparaiso (Chile).
• Asia: Dense rail networks are found in the populated areas of Japan, China, and India.
• Africa: The continent has only 40,000 km of railways, with South Africa alone accounting for 18,000 km due to its gold, diamond, and copper mining activities.

Trans-Continental Railways

These are railways that run across an entire continent, linking its two ends. They were built for both economic and political reasons.

• Trans-Siberian Railway: The longest (9,332 km) double-tracked and electrified railway in the world. It runs from St. Petersburg in the west to Vladivostok on the Pacific Coast of Russia. It has been crucial in opening up Russia's Asian region to West European markets.
• Trans-Canadian Railways: This 7,050 km long line runs from Halifax in the east to Vancouver on the Pacific Coast. It is the "economic artery of Canada," connecting its industrial region with the wheat belt and forest regions.
• The Union and Pacific Railway: Connects New York on the Atlantic Coast to San Francisco on the Pacific Coast in the U.S.A. It is a major route for exporting ores, grain, paper, chemicals, and machinery.
• The Australian Trans-Continental Railway: Runs from Perth on the west coast to Sydney on the east coast.
• The Orient Express: Runs from Paris to Istanbul. This route significantly reduced the journey time from London to Istanbul to 96 hours, compared to 10 days by sea.

WATER TRANSPORT

Water transport has a major advantage: it does not require route construction. The oceans are natural highways. It is also much cheaper than land transport because the friction of water is far less, meaning lower energy costs. Water transport is divided into sea routes and inland waterways.

Sea Routes

Ocean transport is the cheapest means for carrying bulky materials over long distances between continents. Modern ships are equipped with radar and navigation aids, and specialized vessels like tankers and refrigerated ships have improved cargo transport.

Important Sea Routes:

• The Northern Atlantic Sea Route: This is the busiest sea route in the world, also known as the Big Trunk Route. It connects the industrially developed regions of North-eastern U.S.A. and North-western Europe. One-fourth of the world's foreign trade moves on this route.
• The Mediterranean-Indian Ocean Sea Route: This route passes through the "heart of the Old World" and serves more countries and people than any other. Key ports include Port Said, Aden, Mumbai, Colombo, and Singapore. The Suez Canal is a vital part of this route.
• The Cape of Good Hope Sea Route: Connects Western Europe with West Africa, South Africa, South-east Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.
• The Southern Atlantic Sea Route: Connects Western Europe and West Africa with Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. Traffic is lower on this route due to limited development in South America and Africa.
• The North Pacific Sea Route: Connects ports on the west coast of North America (like Vancouver and San Francisco) with those in Asia (like Yokohama and Hong Kong). Many routes converge at Honolulu.
• The South Pacific Sea Route: Connects Western Europe and North America with Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific islands via the Panama Canal.

Coastal Shipping

For countries with long coastlines like the U.S.A., China, and India, coastal shipping is a convenient and cheaper mode of transport. It can help reduce congestion on land routes.

Shipping Canals

Two man-made canals are vital gateways for global commerce.

• The Suez Canal (1869): Located in Egypt, it connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. It is a 160 km long sea-level canal without locks. It provides Europe with a direct gateway to the Indian Ocean, significantly reducing the sea-route distance compared to going around the Cape of Good Hope.
• The Panama Canal: Connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans across the Isthmus of Panama. This 72 km long canal has a system of six locks to lift and lower ships by 26 meters. It shortens the distance between New York and San Francisco by 13,000 km. Its economic significance is less than that of the Suez, but it is vital for Latin American economies.

Inland Waterways

Rivers, canals, and lakes have been used for transport for centuries. They are especially useful for moving very heavy cargo like coal, cement, and timber. The development of an inland waterway depends on its navigability (width and depth), continuous water flow, and technology.

• The Rhine Waterways: Flows through Germany and the Netherlands. It is the world's most heavily used inland waterway, connecting the industrial areas of Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands with the North Atlantic Sea Route.
• The Danube Waterway: An important waterway serving Eastern Europe.
• The Volga Waterway: One of Russia's most important waterways, providing 11,200 km of navigable route and draining into the Caspian Sea.
• The Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Seaway: A unique commercial waterway in North America formed by the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. It allows large ocean-going vessels to travel deep into the continent.
• The Mississippi Waterways: Connects the interior of the U.S.A. with the Gulf of Mexico.

AIR TRANSPORT

Air transport is the fastest but also the most costly means of transportation. It is preferred for long-distance passenger travel and for moving valuable, time-sensitive cargo.

Key Features:

• Accessibility: It is often the only way to reach inaccessible areas, overcoming barriers like mountains, deserts, or snowfields.
• Strategic Importance: Airways have great military and strategic value.
• Infrastructure: Requires elaborate and expensive infrastructure like airports, hangars, and maintenance facilities. This is why it is more developed in highly industrialized countries.

Inter-Continental Air Routes

A dense network of air routes exists in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in Eastern U.S.A., Western Europe, and Southeast Asia. The U.S.A. alone accounts for 60% of the world's airways. Major cities like New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, and Singapore are nodal points where air routes converge. In contrast, Africa, the Asiatic part of Russia, and South America have limited air services.

PIPELINES

Pipelines are used extensively to transport liquids and gases like water, petroleum, and natural gas in an uninterrupted flow. They can also be used to transport liquefied coal.

The U.S.A. has a dense network of oil pipelines. The Big Inch is a famous pipeline that carries petroleum from the Gulf of Mexico to the North-eastern States. In Europe, Russia, West Asia, and India, pipelines connect oil wells to refineries and ports.

COMMUNICATIONS

Communication methods have evolved from early systems like the telegraph and telephone to the modern digital era. The telephone was a critical factor in the urbanization of America, allowing firms to centralize their headquarters while managing branch offices in other towns.

Modern Developments

• Optic Fiber Cables (OFC): This was a major breakthrough, allowing large quantities of data to be transmitted rapidly, securely, and with virtually no errors.
• Internet: In the 1990s, telecommunications merged with computers to form integrated networks, creating the Internet.

Satellite Communication

Since the 1970s, communication through artificial satellites has become a new frontier. Satellites connect even the most remote corners of the globe. A key advantage is that the cost and time of communication are the same regardless of distance.

India has made significant progress in satellite technology, with launches like Aryabhatt (1975), Bhaskar-I (1979), and APPLE (1981). These satellites have made long-distance communication, television, radio, and weather forecasting very effective.

Cyber Space - Internet

Cyberspace is the world of electronic, computerized space, encompassed by the Internet (e.g., the World Wide Web). It is a digital world for communicating and accessing information without physical movement.

The growth of the Internet has been unprecedented.

• 1995: Less than 50 million users.
• 2000: About 400 million users.
• 2023: About 5.4 billion users.

The majority of the world's users are now in countries like the U.S.A., U.K., Germany, Japan, China, and India. Cyberspace is expanding our economic and social lives through e-mail, e-commerce, e-learning, and e-governance.