Rajasthan: Transportation Network

Transport, an important component of the tertiary sector is of immense significance in a country’s economic development. With the advancements complexities and sophistication of the modern world, a country cannot think of attaining economic

the transport sector. Transport is an essential economic infrastructure for the rapid development of any region. The lack of transport facilities retards the process of economic development even if a region is endowed with rich natural resources. Transport has been recognized as an indispensable ingredient of a State’s overall development. Healthy transport system is indicator of economic health and development of a nation. It is well known fact that road is harbinger of development in present road transport system. All development sectors get benefits of improved transport and communication. In a vast State like Rajasthan, an integrated and efficient transportation mode is absolutely necessary for rapid economic development. Roads carry larger share of traffic.

The total road length which was just 13,553 km in 1949 increased to 2,17,707.25 km upto March, 2016. The road density in the state is 63.61 km per 100 sq. km at the end of 31March, 2016, which is much below the national average of 166.47 km.

A number of national highways join Rajasthan to the other parts of India. The most famous highway in the state is National Highway 8. It is the oldest highway with 4-8 lanes in the country. The road network of Rajasthan is highly impressive and called as Rajasthan State Highway or “RJ SH”. In total there are 20 National Highways which extend to 5,713 km together with 85 State Highway which are extended up to 11,716 km.

The state houses one inter-city surface transport infrastructure comprising bus services and railways. All the major cities in the state are joined by railways, flights, and roadways.

Roadways

Rajasthan is sufficiently linked with all the major cities in India like Ahmedabad, New Delhi, and Indore through both National and State Highways.

The national highways system in Rajasthan encompasses an overall span of 5,585 km. The NH8, the most well-known highway in the state, joins major cities such as Ajmer, Jaipur, Udaipur, and Chittorgarh. The length of the NH 8 is around 688 km inside the borders of the state.

The names of the other national highways in the state are as follows: NH 11, NH 3, NH 11B, NH 11A, NH 14, NH 12, NH 65, NH 15, NH 79, NH 76, NH 89, NH 79A, NH 112, NH 90, NH 113, NH 116, and NH 114.

At present, the number of state highways in the state is 85 and the combined span of these thoroughfares is 11,716 km.

The state highways and national highways in Rajasthan represent 14.5% of the transportation system. At the same time, these highways handle 85% of the traffic movement. Bitumen roads join approximately 60% of the villages in Rajasthan.

The state is well joined with a roadways network spanning 150,876 km that runs across the state.

National Highways in Rajasthan

Given below are the names of the national highways in Rajasthan:

NH3 – The distance between the border of Madhya Pradesh and the border of Uttar Pradesh – Majiyan is 20 miles or 32 km
NH8 – Starting from the border of Gujarat – Bechiwara – Khairwara -Udaipur – Nathdwara – Dewair – Bhim – Beawar – Ajmer – Kishangarh – Jaipur – Manoharpur – Kotputli – Behror – Ajarka till the border of Haryana (covers a distance of 688 km or 428 miles)
NH11 starting from Bikaner on National Highway 15 – Sri Dungarh – Ratangarh – Fatehpur – Sikar – Ringas – Jaipur – Dausa – Mahwa – Bharatpur till the border of Uttar Pradesh (covering a distance of 330 miles or 531 km)
NH11A – Starting from Kothum on National Highway 8 connecting Lalsot, Dausa and Manoharpur (covers a distance of 90 miles or 145 km)
NH11B – Starting from Dhaulpur on NH 3 – Bari -Barauli – Anjai – Muthra – Sir – Karauli – Gangapur and ending at its meeting point with NH 11A close to Lalsot (covers a distance of 110 miles or 180 km)
NH12 – From Jaipur – Kothum – Tonk – Devli – Bundi – Kota – Jhalawar – Aklera – Ghatoli till the border of Madhya Pradesh (covering a distance of 250 miles or 400 km)
NH14 – Starting from border of Gujarat – Mawal – Beawar – Abu Road – Pindwara – Sirohi – Sanderav – Pali – Chadawal (covering a distance of 190 miles or 310 km)
NH15 – Starting from the border of Gujarat – Sanchor – Barmer – Shiv – Devikot – Jaisalmer – Pokaran – Phalodi – Kolayat – Bikaner – Lunkaransar – Suratgarh – Ganganagar and ending at the border of Punjab (covering a distance of 563 miles or 906 km)
NH65 – Starting from Pali – Jodhpur – Soila – Nagaur – Deh – Ladnun – Salasar – Fatehpur – Churu – Rajgarh and ending at the border of Haryana (covering a distance of 252 miles or 405 km)
NH71B – Starting near the border of Haryana close to Taoru and ending at Bhiwadi which is also close to the border of Haryana (covering a distance of 3.1 miles or 5 km)
NH76 – Starting from the border of Madhya Pradesh – Deori – Shahbad – Kishanganj – Baran – Kota – Kheri – Pindwara – Chittaurgarh – Udaipur and ending at Gogunda (covering a distance of 300 miles or 480 km)
NH79 – Starting from the border of Madhya Pradesh – Nimbahera – Chittaurgarh – Jharwasa – Nasirabad – Ajmer (covering a distance of 140 miles or 220 km)
NH79A – Nasirabad (National Highway 79) – Kishangarh (National Highway 8) (covering a distance of 22 miles or 35 km)
NH89 – Bikaner – Nokha – Nagaur – Ren – Pushkar – Ajmer (covering a distance of 190 miles or 300 km)
NH90 Aklera – Baran (covering a distance of 62 miles or 100 km)
NH112 – Barmer Kawas – Tilwara – Balotra -Pachpadra – Kalyanpur – Jodhpur – Kaparda – Bilara – Jaitaran – Bar – and ending at the highway’s meeting point with NH 14 close to Bar (covering a distance of 213 miles or 343 km)
NH113 – Starting from the border of Gujarat to Banswara – Bari – Sohagpura – Pratapgarh and ending at its meeting point with National Highway 79 close to Nimbahera (covering a distance of 120 miles or 200 km)
NH114 – Starting from near Pokaran on National Highway 15 to Dechhu – Shaitrawa – Balesar and ending at the highway’s meeting point with National Highway 65 close to Jodhpur (covering a distance of 110 miles or 180 km)
NH116 – Starting from Sawai Madhopur and ending at the highway’s meeting point with National Highway 12 close to Tonk – r – Uniara (covering a distance of 50 miles or 80 km).

The RSRTC or Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation, which is a state-owned organization, offers regular bus services to different parts of the state. Privately owned operators also run bus services. Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC) was established on 1st October, 1964 under the Road Transport Corporation Act, 1950. Presently Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC) is operating to run a total of 4,607 own and on contract Private buses. The vehicles are operated on 2,263 routes in the States, plying 15.92 lakh km and carrying 8.65 lakh passengers per day.

The total length of railway routes in the State was 5,870 km in March, 2014, which increased by 28 km and reaches 5,898 km at the end of March, 2015. The Railway length in State is 8.93 per cent of all India route length.

Railways

The North Western Railway (NWR) is one of the seventeen railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Jaipur, This zone is the key enabler of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project by virtue of running railways 1,500 km long Western Dedicated Freight Corridor. comprising four divisions: Jodhpur and reorganized Bikaner division of the erstwhile Northern Railway zone, and reorganized Jaipur and Ajmer divisions of the erstwhile Western Railway zone.

Airports

The state is blessed with 6 airports out which 2 are accessed by the national operators and one belongs to the Indian air force.

Airports Info

Sanganer Airport (Jaipur)

Jaipur international airport is a huge entity with all the basic amenities available to the travelers. It is located in the southern direction of the city.

Civil Airport Jodhpur (Jodhpur)

The domestic airport at Jodhpur is at a distance of 5 Km from the city.

Maharana Pratap Airport (Udaipur)

It is a domestic airport and is located about 22 km away from the city. It is one of the busiest airports because it receives flights from different sources such as Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur along with Jodhpur.

Kota Airport (Kota)

Domestic airport of Kota was functional till 1997 when it was closed down due to the lack of flight, however private operators conduct flight on this route.

Jaisalmer Airport (Jaisalmer)

It is located 9 km away from the city; however it is only open for Indian Air force and its fighter planes.

Nal Airport (Bikaner)

The airport at Bikaner is under construction and would be soon in operation. It is situated 17 km away from the city.

Upcoming Airports

The central government has allocated funds for the construction of low budget airports at Alwar, Kota and Bhilwara. These towns are known for their artistic works and many tourists come from all over the world to buy the products. Often they have to travel by road which is costly and cumbersome. Ajmer would soon have its own airport due to its proximity to the dargah and the pushkar temple.

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