Railway Networks

There are regions of dense, moderate and sparse railway networks.

Regions of Dense Network

(i) The northern plains and eastern coastal areas possess a dense network of railways. The level land, fertile soils, dense population and spread of industries are the reasons for this dense railway network.

(ii) The plains of Gujarat and Saurashtra, Central Tamil Nadu and Chhotanagpur Plateau are the other regions. These regions have well developed industries.

Regions of Moderate Railway Network

The whole of peninsular region except Tamil Nadu and Chhotanagpur has a moderate network. The hilly and plateau terrain provides unfavourable conditions for laying railway lines. There are long trunk routes which connect the important industrial cities and ports. The railway lines either pass through the large gaps between hills or through the tunnels.

Regions of Sparse Railway Network

(i) The Himalayan mountain region, comprising Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh have hardly a line here and there. The hilly terrain, rugged topography are the main reasons responsible for the very sparse network.

Some foot hill towns such as Jammu, Kathgodam, Kotdwar and Dehradoon are the only rail heads touching the region. Recently, railway line has been extended from Jammu to Uddhampur in the state Jammu and Kashmir. There are few narrow gauge tracks between Kalka and Shimla and between Siliguri and Darjeeling.

(ii) The North eastern region has also sparse railway network. Only Brahmaputra valley in Assam has main railway line. All hilly states in this region are almost without a railway line. The hilly terrain, thick forest cover, heavy rainfall, low level of economy and sparse population are the main factors for the absence of railway lines.

(iii) Desert region of western Rajasthan has also sparse network of railways. There are some metre gauge railway lines which link the big cities. However, most of these metre gauge railway lines have been converted into broad gauge lines. This area is sparsely populated and has few industries. Moreover the climate is hot and dry. Dry sandy winds obstruct the railway tracks. All these factors hamper the construction of railway lines and their proper maintenance.

Pattern of Trunk Railway Routes

If you try to trace the busy trunk route railway lines connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata (and back to Delhi), you get a kite-shaped pattern. Further add to it the diagonal lines connecting Mumbai and Kolkata on one hand and Delhi and Chennai on the other, you get a kite or diamond shaped figure. These lines serve as backbone of the entire railway network in the country.

This main pattern needs two important additions one in the Sutlej Basin or the Punjab plains in the north-west and one in the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam. The former consists of lines connecting Delhi with Pathankot, Amritsar-Wagha and Firozpur. The other trunk connects North-east Bihar and Northern West Bengal with Dibrugarh in east or upper Assam. All these lines connect Delhi with a broad gauge and the most part of them has been electrified.