Indian Railways' Density Pattern

Indian Railways' Density Pattern The density of rail network varies, influenced as it is by terrain and population mainly.

High Density Region The northern plains with a density of 40 km line per 1000 sq km have nearly half of the total density. The factors favouring a high density in this region are a big population, level topography and an intense agriculture-industry correlation. The whole region is well connected by the rail network; but the connectivity is more efficient in the east-west direction (since, in this direction the rail lines can follow river flows). But the connectivity is not so efficient in the north-south direction, as a large number of small and big streams have to be crossed. With Delhi as the focal point, the important nodes in this region from Amritsar to Howrah include Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi and Patna.

Large areas of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu also constitute a high density region. High population density, a well developed economy and relatively level topography are the reasons for high density in this region.

Moderate Density Region This includes the interior peninsular region. The hilly plateau terrain and a moderate concentration of population do not allow a high rail network density. In this region, the trunk routes have been aligned in such a way that there are efficient connections between Mumbai and Chennai, Chennai and Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad, and Chennai and Cochin.

Low Density Region This includes the Himalayan belt, western Rajasthan and the North-East. Although the Brahmaputra vaHey has two parallel lines, there is no rail line in Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. Reasons for low density in this region are a difficult terrain, sparse population, an under­deveJoped economy and high costs involved in laying rail Jines through hills and forests. Because of the Western Ghats being too close to the coast, there was no rail line there, but with the completion of the Konkan Rail Project, rail network density is expected to increase along the west coast. The Eastern Ghats, on the other hand, are away from the coast, and therefore a trunk line is provided there.