Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.8, 2011 India: Inter-City Passenger Transport – Trends And Issues Raghu DAYAL Senior Fellow Asian Institute of Transport Development 13, Palam Marg, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi-110057, India Tel.: 91-11-26155309 Fax: 91-11-26156294 E-mail:
[email protected] [email protected] Abstract: Primary focus of the paper remains land transport modes with a peripheral, though essential, reference to aviation. It profiles growth and development of passenger travel market in India. Along with a historical and evolutionary account of modal share underscoring the ecosystem in which the market has functioned, an imperative need for an optimal modal mix is suggested in the interest of the economy as well as environment. Pricing and cost matrix is an important element, so also the demand and supply analysis, particularly of rail services, for investment planning. Some essential features are catalogued by way of lessons learnt for an optimal modal share, which, in turn, implies judicious investments for capacity build-up and development. Keywords: Intercity transport, suburban, optimal modal split 1. INTRODUCTION Serving a land area of 3.3 million square km and a population of over one billion, India's transport system is one of the world’s largest. It consists mainly of roads, railways, and air services. In a few states, inland water transport plays a small supplementary role. And along its long 7,500 km coastline, India has 200 seaports. Since 1950-51, marking the commencement of economic planning era in the country, there has been a significant change in the modal split of passenger traffic.