HomeEducational ResourcesRoad Transport in India Notes with PDF

Road Transport in India Notes with PDF

By October 4, 2025 Educational Resources 0 Comments

These notes are your ultimate revision weapon to revise Road Transport in India. We’ve distilled years of previous exam questions (PYQs) into one powerful, concise resource. Everything you need to know, nothing you don’t.

  • PYQs, Decoded: All key concepts from past exams, organized and simplified.
  • Revise in Record Time: Short, precise, and designed for last-minute review.
  • Focus on What Matters: Master high-probability topics and boost your confidence.
  • Free PDF to download.

Road Transport in India: A Structured Overview

Significance of Road Transport

  • Road transport accounts for 80% of the total transport in India.
    • Source: U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2014

National Highways (NH) & Expressways

Network Overview

  • As of 2004, India had 64 National Highways with a total length of approximately 40,000 km.
    • Source: 45th B.P.S.C. (Pre) 2004
  • Despite their small share of the total road network, National Highways carry about 40% of India’s total road traffic.
  • The state with the longest length of National Highways is Uttar Pradesh.
    • Source: U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2000

Specific Highway Routes & Numbers

  • Longest NH: NH 7 (now renumbered as NH 44) is the longest National Highway.
    • Source: M.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2013
  • NH 4 (Old Numbering): Passes through Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh. It connects Chennai and Hyderabad.
    • Source: Chhattisgarh P.C.S. (Pre) 2003, I.A.S. (Pre) 2014
  • NH 6 (Old Numbering): Connects Mumbai and Kolkata.
    • Source: I.A.S. (Pre) 2014
  • NH 15 (Old Numbering): Connects Ahmedabad and Jodhpur.
    • Source: I.A.S. (Pre) 2014
  • NH-3 (Agra-Mumbai Highway): Passes through Gwalior and Dewas. It does not pass through Bhopal or Dhule.
  • NH-12: Runs from Jabalpur (MP) to Bhopal (MP) and Jaipur.
  • NH-26: Runs from Jhansi to Sagar to Lakhnadon (in MP).
  • NH-50: Connects Nasik to Pune.
  • Amritsar-Delhi-Kolkata Route: Designated as National Highway No. 2 (Old numbering).
  • Longest NH Route (among given options): The Kolkata to Hazira highway.

National Highways in Specific States

  • Madhya Pradesh: The National Highway with the longest length within Madhya Pradesh is NH-3 (Agra-Gwalior-Dewas-Mumbai).

Cities on Highways & Corridors

  • North-South Corridor: The cities situated on this corridor are Kota and Kanpur. Lucknow and Agra are not on this corridor.
  • Six-Lane Expressway (as of 1998/2001): Mumbai and Pune are connected by a six-lane expressway.

State Highways

  • The state with the maximum total length of State Highways is Maharashtra.
    • *Source: U.P.U.D.A./L.D.A. (Pre) 2013, U.P.U.D.A./L.D.A. (Pre) 2010*

Road Infrastructure Statistics

Total Road Length by State

  • The state that ranks first in India in total length of roads is Maharashtra.

Road Density (Length per unit area)

  • The state with the highest density of surface roads is Kerala.
  • Sequence of states in descending order of road density (length per 100 km²): Tamil Nadu (highest), followed by Punjab, then Haryana, and then Maharashtra (lowest among the four).

Major Highway Development Projects

Golden Quadrilateral (GQ)

  • It is a major National Highway project.
    • Source: U.P. Lower Sub. (Pre) 2004, 60th to 62nd B.P.S.C. (Pre) 2016
  • It connects the four major metro cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata.
    • Source: M.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2016

National Highway Development Project (NHDP) Corridors

  • The project includes the North-South (Srinagar-Kanyakumari) and East-West (Silchar-Porbandar) corridors.
  • These two corridors cross/meet at Jhansi.
    • *Source: U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 1999, R.A.S./R.T.S. (Pre) 2013, U.P.U.D.A./L.D.A. (Pre) 2001*
  • The East-West corridor connects Silchar and Porbandar.
    • Source: M.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2019

Government Schemes

  • Pradhanmantri Bharat Jodo Pariyojana: A scheme related to the development of highways.
    • Source: M.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2013
  • Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY): The Primary objective is to develop community life in villages that are not well connected by all-weather roads.

Tunnels & Routes

Major Tunnels

  • The Jawahar Tunnel passes through Banihal in the Pir Panjal range.

Interstate Travel

  • The minimum number of states one would pass through when traveling by road from Kohima (Nagaland) to Kottayam (Kerala) is 7.

Fact Checks (Incorrect Matches)

  • The Durgapur-Kolkata route is not an Express Highway.
  • The Indian railway system is not the largest in the world (it is among the largest, but not the first).
  • National Highways cater to 40% of transport demand, not 45%.

Know More About Road Transport in India:

Related Posts