Means of Transport
Introduction
Transport and communication systems
are vital to the economic health of a country, and the density of the transport
network is an index of economic development. As the economy becomes more
complex and interlinked, adjustments and improvements must be made in the means
of transport and communication. Pakistan is a relatively large country of
diverse topography. Development of Transportation network in the plain areas is
comparatively easy and economically rewarding. The reverse is true of the
mountainous areas and this fact is reflected in the present in the present
distributional pattern of means of transport and communications. The density of
the transportation pattern is very low in the Northern and North-Western hilly
areas and in the Baluchistan Plateau. Vast tracts of land are either totally
devoid of any modern facilities or very inadequately served. The following
means of transportation are available in our country: (i) Inland transportation
(roads and railways).(ii) Waterways (river and ocean transportation and (iii)
Air transportation.
1. Inland
Transportation
(A) ROAD TRANSPORTATION
Importance
Road transport plays a vital roll in
the economic development through mobilization of human and material resources
available in the economy of a country. It facilities trade and opens business
opportunities by collecting goods from the producing centers and distributing
them to different areas where they are needed. It promotes foreign trading by
arranging the distribution of imported goods and collection of indigenous
products to be sent abroad it serves as a mean of creating link between the
urban and rural sectors and facilitates the movement of the people all over the
country. Such movements accelerate social welfare of the people and help the
government in maintaining law and order within the country. It also facilitates
the arrangement for guarding the frontiers through mobilization of defence
store and personnel to the far flung border areas. It supports and compliments
the working of other transport systems. Such as rail, air and waterways which
have a limitation of not being extendable to every part of a country and as
such, their utility as means of mobilization of resources is very much reduced.
Again, road transport does not
require a huge investment and the return of investment made in it not spread
over a very long period. Above all, its maintenance cost is also comparatively
very low and as such, its development, improvement and expansion can be
effected easily and cheaply in comparison to other systems.
Road Transportation in Pakistan
All the time Pakistan was created
there was not much vehicular traffic on roads except bullock carts and other
animal drawn carts .But today the thronged with trucks, buses, station wagons, jeeps,
cars and motorcycles. National logistic cell established in 1978 is performing
great service by transporting essential commodities to and from Karachi Port
Inland.
Although road traffic is increasing
rapidly, the density of the road network is still inadequate and the condition
of most roads is unsatisfactory in quality, width, and separation of up and
down carriageways. Slow moving carts mingle with modern vehicular traffic and
accidents and traffic jams are frequent.
Principal Roads
The main roads of Pakistan are as
follows:
1.Karachi to
Torkham via Lahore
This is the longest and an important
road of Pakistan. It is also known as the grand trunk road. Its length is about
1735 kilometers.
This road links Karachi Port with
other interior parts of our country. The import and export of Afghanistan goes
through this road. All the big cities situated on this road are linked with
other small towns and villages through small roads. In many regions, this road
run parallel to the railway line at some places due to heavy traffic from
Hyderabad to Karachi, it has been rebuilt and is known as the Super Highway. This
road passes from the following towns and cities. Karachi to Thatta, Hyderabad,
Nawabshah, Rohri, Rahimyar Khan, Bahawalpur, Multan, Khanewal, Sahiwal, Okara,
Pattoki, Raiwind, Lahore, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Nowshera,
Peshawar, Torkham.
2.Karachi to Chaman
via Kalat and Quetta
This is the second largest and an
important road of Pakistan. Its distance is about 834 kilometers from Karachi
to Chaman. This road beginning from Karachi passing through the remote areas of
Baluchistan Province, reaches upto, Chaman, a small border town near the border
of Afghanistan. The products of Afghanistan ,such as dry fruits etc. come to
Karachi through this road. Besides this the requirements of rural and urban
areas of Baluchistan are fulfilled through this road.
3.Rohri to
Quetta via Sukkur, Jacobabad-Sibi
This is third important road of our
country. Its distance is about 410 kilometers. This road passing through
different parts of Sindh Province, connects various important cities of
Baluchistan Province. The products of Baluchistan Province and trade with other
province are mainly performed through this road.
4.Dera Ismail
Khan to Quetta via Fort Sandeman
This is also an important road of our
country. This road connects the areas of N.W.F.P .with Baluchistan Province. This
road also goes from Dera Ismail Khan to Peshawar via Bannu and Kohat. It has
strategic and economic importance. The distance from Dera Ismail Khan to Quetta
is 555 kilometers.
5.Third
National Highway
On the right bank of Indus River, a
big highway is under construction. Its distance from Karachi to Peshawar will
be about 1220 kilometers and it is expected that it will be completed upto
1993.This highway will connect the following cities: Karachi, Sewan Sharif,
Dadu, Larkana, Shikarpur, Kashmir, Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu,
Kohat and Peshawar.
(B) RAILWAYS
Introduction
Railways are the convenient and quick
means of transport of people and goods particularly heavy items, over long
distances.
Pakistan inherited 8554 km.(5315
miles) of railways ,to which much addition has not been made. The extension
work has hampered because of difficulties in maintaining and running the
existing railways. The locomotives in Pakistan were run by coal. After the
creation of Pakistan coal became a scarce commodity .Therefore, Pakistan had to
change its engines from coal to diesel which required money and time. Workshop
had also to be remodeled to repair and maintain them. Another problem was the
availability of railways are switching to concrete sleepers. At some places meter
gauge track has been changed into broad gauge track. Besides this, electrification
of Railway track from Lahore to Khanewal has been completed and work of
electrification to Samasatta Railway track is under progress. At present,
Pakistan Railways comprise of 8775 route kilometers,907 stations and 78 train
halts. Its major assets include 753 locomotives,2339 passengers coaches and
34851 freight wagons.
Railway Routes
Following are the principle routes at
Pakistan railways:
1. Peshawar
to Karachi via Lahore
This is the main line of Pakistan
railway. Its distance from Karachi city to peshawar cantt. is 1045 miles or
1682 kilometers. This line passing through Lahore (Pakistan Railway
Headquarter) connects the biggest port of Pakistan (Karachi) with other cities
of the country. The following are the important stations situated on this
route: Peshawar, Nowshera, Attock, Hasanabdal, Texila, Rawalpindi, Jhelum,
Lalamusa, Gujrat, Wazirabad, Gujranwala, Lahore, Raiwind, Pattoki, Okara, Sahiwal,
Khanewal, Multan, Bahawalpur, Khanpur, Rahimyar Khan, Rohri, Khairpur,
Nawabshah, Hyderabad, Kotri, Karachi.
It is a double line from Lodhran to
Karachi and Lahore to Raiwind. Trains can go up and down lines simultaneously, but
from Raiwind to Lodhran, it is a single line track and trains have to stop at
various stations to pass the trains coming from the opposite site.
Electric trains are being run between
Lahore and Khanewal and further extension work is under progress. It is
estimated that the expenditure of oil consumption have been reduced due to the
use of electricity, and a large amount of foreign exchange is being saved also.
2. Karachi to
Quetta via Kotri, Dadu, Jacobabad
This is also an important route of
Pakistan railway. This line connects the port of Karachi with various cities of
Baluchistan Province and reaches upto Quetta. This line has been further
extended from Quetta to Zahidan via Nokundi, Its distance is about 323 miles.
3. Rohri to
Chaman via Sukkur, Larkana, Quetta, Chaman
The distance of this route is 239
miles, it reaches from Rohri to Chaman, a town situated near the border of
Afghanistan. The products of Afghanistan such as fruits etc. reach various
provinces through this route.
4. Peshawar
to Multan via Attock, Kundian, Mari Indus, Multan
This is a branch line which reaches
from Multan to Attock and meets the main line.
5. Lalamusa
to Khanewal via Sargodha, Faisalabad
This is also a branch line passing
through various commercial centers and meets the main line near Lala Musa.
(C) AIR TRANSPORT
in 1947 a small air company, the
Orient Airways, Operated in Pakistan. Two more companies quickly stand up
namely the Pak-air Limited and Crescent Airways. By 1952 the two new companies
were dissolved. The Orient Airways was too small to meet the growing needs of
the country. Therefore, in April 1955, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is
established by an ordinance. The Orient Airways was merged in the new company
which now monopolizes air transport in Pakistan.
The Pakistan International Airline
has made a phenomenal progress since it Inception. It started its life with a
fleet of 15 aircrafts, three super constellation, two conveyers and ten
Dakutas. As on February 29,1992 Pia’s fleet comprised of 47 aircrafts of
different types.
The PIA services are available to
some large cities like Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Faisalabad,
Multan, Hyderabad, and Quetta. It also links small places which have transport
difficulties like Gilgit, Chitral, Skurdo, Pasni, Gwadar, Turbal and Jiwani and
important historical places, Like Mohenjo Daro. In all PIA serves 35 domestic
stations.It has wide links outside Pakistan. It connects many Europeon
countries like U.K, Germany, France, Italy, Russia etc. It goes to U.S.A. It
connects most of the countries of the Middle East and a few African countries. It
goes to India, Bangladesh, Singapore, Thailand, China, Hong Kong and Japan. In
all PIA serves 43 International stations. The result of this expansion has been
that the number of the passengers and Cargo handled by PIA has greatly increase
in 1955-56 PIA carried 1.1 million passengers which was more than double in five
years time. In 1970-71 and 1971-72, there was a little set back because of
political disturbances in East Pakistan and its eventual position in 1971. Since
then the conditions have started to improve steadily. In ten years time the
passenger traffic increased from 1.8 million (1970-71) to 6.5 million
(1980-81).The increase was phenomenal rise took place in international traffic
from 0.5 million in 1970-71 to 3.2 million in 1981-82.The progress in Cargo
handled by PIA as equally glorious. In 1955-56 only 1,00 tons of cargo was
carried that increased by about 7 times in five years (1959-60).In other ten
years 1970-71 the increase was 3 times. In another ten years (198081),more than
three times increase was registered.
Karachi Airport of our country has
gained the position of an International Airport. It is a stopping point for
flights from Europe to Far East and Australia and also for flights from China
to Africa. From Karachi there are connecting flights to various countries of
Middle East. PIA’S network extends from Tokyo to Newyork and Toronto. In June, 1991,
Mashed in Iran as added as a new destination.
In PIA, within a few years
engineering facilities will be further developed and production facilities will
be geared up to undertake manufacturing and repair work.
2. Waterways
(A)RIVER TRANSPORTATION
Rivers were the chief means of
transportation in ancient times. That is why most of the ancient cities grew up
along the courses and at the junctions of rivers. Today, only cheap, bulky and
non-perishable goods are carried by rivers.
Rivers are probably the cheapest
means of transportation. Expenses such as those involved in the building of
roads and railway tracks are avoided as the running cost of boats is low. When
compared with that of engines and trains .In mountainous regions of our country,
timber wood is transported by means of rivers. There is insufficient water in
our rivers all the year round for large boats to use them easily. The Indus
carries sufficient water and is navigable from Attock to its delta which is
about a distance of 960 miles.Different kinds of Items such as timber, grains,
stones etc., is transported from one place to another with the help of small
boats.
(B)OCEAN TRANSPORTATION
The import and export of Pakistan are
mainly carried through Ocean transport.
Shipping
Pakistan is started its life with a
frail base in shipping sector. There were three old ships with a dead weight of
18,000 tons. Almost all the goods from foreign countries were brought on
foreign ships and heavy drain of foreign exchange was taking place. The
government therefore became a member of U.K. Continent Conference line .More
than 40 ships began to operate. Further expansion of shipping enterprise was
felt necessary. In 1963 a new shipping policy was adopted which among other
things, sanctioned the purchase of 35 ships. During the same year National
Shipping Corporation was established. Its ship began to operate on U.K. continent
route and U.S.A. in 1964.In 1965,its ships started to go to Singapore, Hong
Kong ,China and Japan. In 1966,Red sea and Persian Gulf areas were tapped. By
1970 the corporation had 31 vessels with dead weight of 336,931 tones. Besides
there were 40 ships owned by other companies established in Pakistan. These 71
Pakistani ships were handling the entire interwing trade (East Pakistan-West
Pakistan trade) and 14 % of the foreign sea-borne trade and could carry 6600
passengers. In 1974,th e private shipping companies were nationalized. To
manage them Pakistan Shipping Corporation was established. In 1979,the two
corporations were merged under the name of Pakistan National Shipping
Corporation (PNSC).The PNSC’s development programme includes the acquisition of
a bulk carrier for shipments of rock phosphate, an edible oil tanker for
shipments of palm oil, four bulk carriers for shipments of iron ore and coal
imported by Pakistan Steel and three container vessels for handling
containerized general cargo trade.
At present there are 22 vessels owned
by PNSC. The corporation has a dead weight of 352,716 tons. During the first
half of the year ending December31, 1991 the corporation handled 2.74 million
freight tones of cargo as against 2.77 million freight tons during the
previous-half year ending December 31, 1990.
1. Karachi
Port
Located west of the Indus Delta on
the Arabian Sea coast, Karachi Port has served Pakistan since its inception. Karachi
is a natural harbor sheltered behind the island of Keamari and a break-water at
Manora. Karachi, a major port by world standards, is Pakistan’s only large
port. It has a vast hinterland comprising not merely Pakistan and that part of
Kashmir which is not under Indian occupation but also Afghanistan. The port has
more than 25 berths, plus a petroleum dock. The East Wharf, constructed over 50
years ago, has been modernized. The West Wharves and a dry dock for the
construction and repair of ships have been built since independence. The ports
dry general cargo handling capacity, though considerably increased in the past,
is still less than the actual amount of cargo handled, the two respectively
being C and over 14 million tons per annum. As a result, the harbor is very
crowded, with most ships double-berthed, and long delays in entering the port
are usual .Much has been done to improve the port in four projects .The fourth
project of Karachi port included, among other works, the construction of 75,000
dead weight oil tanker berth. It has improved the old handling capacity of the
port from 5 to 10 million tones per annum. A master plan had been prepared for
the development of the port and the first set of 8 berths, with modern
container terminals, was completed by 1987-88.The dry general cargo handling
capacity of the port improved by 2 million tones.
Cargo Handling
During the first nine months of the
Financial year ending March 1992,the Karachi port handled a cargo volume of
14.7 million tons (11 million tons of import and 3.7 million tons of export)
,which is 4.2% above the corresponding period of the previous year.
2. Port
Mohammed Bin Qasim
In view of the increasing work the
Karachi Port had to perform, the necessity of a new port was felt. After
examining a number of areas, finally a site for the new port was selected at
Pilli Creek, close to Pakistan Steel Mill. In June 1973,Port Mohammed Bin Qasim
Authority was established and the work on the port was started. Port Mohammed
Bin Qasim, which is the first bulk, semi bulk and industrial port of the country
is situated 53 kilometers south east of the Karachi Port.
Besides handling general cargo like
rice, cement, fertilizers etc. the port will have special facilities for
handling iron ore, coal and steel mill machinery. In the first phase the port
shall have 8 berths and 12 more will be added in the second phase. Most of the
work in phase 1 has been completed and the port has started functioning.
Cargo Handling
Cargo handled at Port Bin Qasim during
July March 1991-92 was 5.768 million tones, including 5.152 million tones of
import and 0.616 million tones of export goods.
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