Page 11 - Technology Roadmap Transportation

FOREWORD

India is a large and diverse country with resources,production centers, markets
and opportunities dispersed across her length and breadth; needing efficient
transportation infrastructure for people to realise their full potential. Since
independence, transport sector has been playing a crucial role of connecting cities,
towns and villages. Technology Vision 2035 envisages everyone to be able to reach
respective district headquarter within 3 hours, state capital within 5 hours and
national capital within 8 hours. It further envisages access to public transport within
a km from home with no two points to be more than one hour apart even in a
metropolitan area.

Since independence, India’s transportation system has seen a paradigm change.
Road infrastructure, both highways as well as rural road networks, as well as air
transport infrastructure, have seen impressive growth.
There is however an imbalance in the load on different modes of transport. For
example, there is disproportionate growth in personal automobile transport in
preference to more efficient integrated mass transportation systems in our cities
leading to traffic congestion, delays in travel time, greater fuel consumption and
higher level of pollution. Roads being the dominant mode of transport carry about
60% of freight and 87% of passenger traffic. This leads to greater energy consumption,
increase in pollution, greater wear and tear and higher level of transport risks.
Indian Railways, one of the largest rail network in the world, carry around 1.50
crore passengers and 1.65 lakh tonnes of freight daily on its network of 64,000
route kilometers. Railway tracks as well as rolling stocks are however overburdened
and need improved inspection and maintenance along with significant expansion.
Growth of rail transportation infrastructure, even though more energy efficient and
has lower transportation risks, has not kept pace with the needs.

Limitations on ground as well as rising expectation on faster mobility, along with
needs of growing economy, have led to rise in the demand for air transport. While
India has taken good steps in modernizing most of the airports and impressive
growth has been registered, there are challenges of congestion in airspace as well
as at airports.

Though shipping is the most environment-friendly and economic mode of
transport,its full potential has not yet been exploited. Water transportation has
remained neglected by and large and is receiving attention in recent times.

Transportation today is largely dependent on hydrocarbon fuel most of which
we import. India’s energy import bill is expected to see a steep rise in years to
come. This along with concerns related to climate change arising out of use of fossil
energy necessitates transitions to meeting energy needs of transportation systems
without depending on fossil hydrocarbons or even better with use of fuels based
on non-fossil primary energy.There is thus importance to electric mobility as also to
futuristic synthetic fluid fuels produced using non-fossil primary energy.

On vehicle technology front, several new innovations are around or are on the anvil.
They have the potential to significantly reduce transport time, be more economic
and environment friendly, be adapted to local needs and be more passenger friendly.

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