Geography O-Level P-2 Notes by Javed Kausar 1 Unit 11: Transport and communication

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UNIT 11 Syllabus 2019 – 21

(a) Internal transport
 Interpret maps to describe the regional
variations in the density and pattern of

TRANSPORT AND
the road, rail and air transport
networks within Pakistan
 Explain the factors which help and hinder

COMMUNICATION
the location, maintenance and
development of roads, railways and
airports
 Describe improvements that have
recently taken place in road, rail and
air communications, and consider the
feasibility of new developments
 Compare the advantages and
O Level disadvantages of road, rail and air
transport within Pakistan for both goods
Pakistan Studies 
and people
Evaluate the development of new
transport schemes, including
(Geography) motorway and airport development.

(b) International transport

 Identify on a map those roads
Javed Kausar (including the name of the pass they
use, where relevant) and railways which
cross the international boundary and are in
use for at least part of the year
 Identify on a map the ports of
Keamari, Qasim and Gwadar, and the
cities with international airports
 Explain the factors which affect the
location and development of cross border
roads and railways, seaports, dry ports
and airports
 Explain what is meant by the term dry
port, name an example of one and
explain why they have been
developed in many cities of Pakistan.

(c) Telecommunications
 Explain the importance of radio,
television, phones, fax machines, emails
and the internet in the fields of
education, industry, services and trade
 Understand the problems of providing
telecommunications in some parts of
Pakistan
 Evaluate the role of
telecommunications in the development of
Pakistan.

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Geography O-Level P-2 Notes by Javed Kausar 2 Unit 11: Transport and communication
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UNIT-11: TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION

Movement of people and goods from one place to another
 Transport system provides a sound base for the socio-economic growth of a country.
 The demand for efficient transport has increased over the years.
 There are four major means of transport in Pakistan

Railways Roads Airways Seaways

Goods Goods Passengers + Goods Goods
Passengers Passengers

Factors determining Railways, roads. Sea and airways

 Topography –steep slopes, the rugged mountains North Western Mountains
 Climate: snow most of the year, landslides, and avalanches
 Population density
 Agriculture
 Industry
 Settlements

Railways
Railway is easily built in plains. It is convenient for longer routes.
The network of Pakistan Railways extends to 11, 899 kilometers of track with about 900 stations and
54 trains halts.
It carries bulky, heavy goods.
In high mountains there are no railway tacks e.g. Gilgit, Murree, Chitral etc.
The foothills of the mountains like Kohat, Bannu and Peshawar had rail tracks as they are found in the
lower areas.

Major Routes
 Karachi to Peshawar. This route starts from Karachi and via Lahore reaches Peshawar. From
Peshawar, it goes onwards. Chaman at Pak-Afghan border .This section from Peshawar to
Turkham is little used.
 Karachi to Quetta. This railway line starts from Karachi and via Sukhur and Sibi goes to Quetta.
 From Quetta to Chaman. A small railway tract from Quetta to Chaman at Pak Afghan borders.
 Quetta to Zahedan in Iran
 A long railway track for Quetta to Zahedan in Iran.
 Railway networks is very dense and developed in to Plains of Punjab and Sindh.
 In Northern and North-western Mountains, there are no railways due to rugged mountains and
severe climatic conditions.
 The northern most highway station in in Dargai. Valleys of Peshawar, Kohat and Bannu have
railway in western Mountains.
 In south western Baluchistan, there are no railways
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Distribution of railways

 In Sind railway network is laid along the both banks of River Indus.
 A railway line from south goes east to Pakistan India border another railway line goes south
west to coastal area (Karachi). Moving north a railway line goes west from Sind to Baluchistan
where Quetta is hub.
 A railway line from Quetta goes to North West to Pakistan Afghanistan border and another goes
west to Pakistan Iran border.
 In Punjab railway lines are laid along the both banks of River Indus, along the eastern tributaries
of River Indus and across the doabs.
 Moving North railway network extends to Potwar Plateau to Rawalpindi. Same network further
extends to Peshawar and valleys of NWFP. From Peshawar a railway line goes west to Pak
Afghan border.

Deterioration of railways in Pakistan

 Lack of investment
 Corruption and Mismanagement
 Long delays in departures and arrivals of trains.
 Operational inefficiency
 Poor infrastructure of railways
 Shortage of engines

Development of Railways
 New services launched on new routes for passengers and freight
 New track plan for Gwadar
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 Computerized system of ticketing

 Replacing steam engines with diesel engines and start of electric traction form Lahore to
Khanewal.
 Building dual tracks on selected routes, e.g., between Khanewal and Lodhran on the Karachi –
Peshawar route.
 More repair workshop; the oldest one in Mughalpura, Lahore is being improved; new workshops
in Islamabad, Sukkur and Jhelum to repair and manufacture parts of carriages.
 Plan to revitalize KCR (Karachi Circular Railway) to ease transport of good and passenger
within the city; government plans to extend old routes, improve services and connect them to
the newly built roads, bridges and flyovers.

Roads
Road transport is the most popular means of transport. It includes motor vehicles such as buses, trucks,
cars, taxis, rickshaws, jeeps and motor cycles. Road transport carries 82% of the total passenger traffic
and 54% of the total freight traffic in the country.
The total network of roads is approximately 181, 836 km (1998 – 1999). 118, 194 km are metalled roads
with 63, 642 km not being metalled.
 Road network is denser compared to trains and air networks.
 It is more dense in plains of Punjab and Sindh
 Small towns are also connected by roads
 Baluchistan has an extremely low density of roads due rugged landscape.
 Northern and North western Mountains have very few road Karakorum Highway is the only
major road which connects Pakistan with china.
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Distribution of road network

 There are two major types of road networks National Highways (N5 between Peshawar &
Karachi) and Motorways (M2 between Lahore and Islamabad). National Highways are wide
spread as compared to Motorways (due to cost).
 In Sind N5 and N55 (Indus Highway) run along the banks of river Indus. N55 runs along western
bank of river Indus and without crossing any major river reaches Peshawar.
 N5 in southern Punjab runs along the eastern bank of river Indus moving north it passes through
doabs (Bari, Rachna and Chaj).
 Passing through Potwar Plateau N5 moves west reaching Peshawar. N5 crosses river Indus
and its eastern tributaries and connects major towns in Sind, Punjab and KPK.
 In Baluchistan there are national highways which connect Quetta to other parts of provinces
and other provinces.
 In KPK mainly main cities are connected with national highways in north.
 There are four Motorways that are operational M1(Peshawar-Islamabad), M2(Islamabad-
Lahore) & M3 (Pindi Bhattian-Faisalabad) and M9 (Karachi-Hyderabad).
 There are several motorways under construction e.g. M8 Ratodero-Gwadar.

Major Roads of Pakistan

 N-5 – National Highway: Starts from Karachi and via Lahore goes to Peshawar, it goes to
Turkham at Pak-Afghan border.
Karachi to Lahore section is called National Highway. Lahore to Peshawar section is called
Grand trunk Road it lies on the eastern bank of Indus River
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 Indus Highway: Located on the west bank of River Indus sections from Karachi to kotri called
super High From Karachi to Peshawar, it passes through Dadu, Lahore shikarpur, Dera Ghazi
Khan and Dera Ismail khan (through Kohat Pass).
 R.C.D highway road: (Regional cooperation Development) Nusiki Nahkundi Goes from
Karachi to Quetta, then via nusliki and it reaches Iran, and then goes to Turkery.
 Lahore – Quetta Road: It goes via Faisalabad crosses Indus at D.I. Khan and enters into
Baluchistan via Zhob and then goes to Quetta
 Sukar –Quetta: Karakoram Highway (Connects Pakistan to China)
Karachi – Gwadar Road (Coastal Highway)
 Motorway: M1  Islamabad – Peshawar
M2  Islamabad – Lahore
M3  Pindi Bhattian to Faisalabad
M9 → Karachi – Hyderabad

Importance of Motorways

 Quick and efficient means of transportation

 Industrial estates could be established along Motorways
 Industrial Expansion can take place
 Can be extended to Afghanistan and China
 New settlements can be established along motorways

Road transport vs rail transport

Roads Railways
 Vehicles are cheap  Engines, wagons are expensive
 Easier to build and maintain  Difficult to build and maintain
 Cheaper to construct and maintain  High cost
 Preferred for short distance travelling  Preferred for long distance travel
 Carry perishable item vegetables, meat,  Transport carries bulky items such a
fruits coal, freight, cargo goods

Dry Ports
The inland cities which are far from seaport have dry ports to promote foreign trade. These dry ports
speed up export and import procedure.
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Aims
 Established in Inland cities
 Easy custom clearance and inspection
 Dry ports reduce work load at Karachi Part
 Helps in smooth collection of revenue
 Helps exporters – trouble –free services
 Promotes foreign trade

Requirements
 Highly efficient rail transport with a container service to carry bulk cargo.
 Efficient managerial staff.
 Huge storage sheds & open areas.
 Refrigeration facilities foe perishable items.

Airways
 Air transport is most effective for low volume and high value goods that need to be moved
quickly.
 There is an extensive domestic air network linking all the key cities and major district centers.
 In 1947, Orient Airways, a small air company, operated in Pakistan.
 By 1949 there were three small air companies, Pakistan Airways, Orient Airways and Crescent
Airways. After 1955 one of these closed and Orient Airways to form Pakistan International
Airlines (PIA).
 PIA (Pakistan International Airlines) was established in 1955 to provide safe and efficient
transport on domestic and international routes.
 The network of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) now covers 55 international and 37
domestic destinations.
The Civil Aviation Authority manages and develops civil aviation in Pakistan.
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Distribution of Air Network

Most of the air routes lead from south to north from Karachi, the routes follow Indus River/ Indus plain.
Few routes in East West direction e.g. Peshawar, and in the extreme north e.g. Gilgit. Non in south east
e.g. Thar Desert. Few routes along the coastline e.g. Gwadar leading from Karachi.

Benefits of airways
 Fast and Quick
 Perishable (eating items can be transported
 Fragile stuff handling
 Faster than roads and railways
 Effective for low volume and high value goods.
 Can go to areas where roads and railways are not present like Skurdu)
 Accessible to people who can afford air travel.
 Air cargo to other countries have increased (vegetables and fruits to Dubai and other Middle
Eastern countries)
 International travelling has also increased.
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Major air ports in Pakistan

Development of air transport

Internal Factors External Factors

 Air transport is faster than rail and road.  Transport has increased to Middle East
 Industrialists and businessmen prefer to because of large local work force working
travel by air because of less time. there.
 It is effective mode of transport for high  Trade of perishable items like fruits and
value, light weight and perishable goods. vegetables to Middle East also increased.
 People who can afford the higher cost  Improvements in transport have turned the
prefer to go by air. world into a global village with more
 In mountainous regions where there is passengers.
difficult access by road, air routes make  Migration has also increased.
these areas accessible.  Tourism has also increased.
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Advantages and Disadvantages of air transport

Advantages Disadvantages
 Safest, fastest and most comfortable  Most expensive means of transport.
means of transport.  Not suitable for carrying bulky and low-
 Accessibility to areas which are not easily value goods.
accessible by land.  Though rare, the air transport accidents are
 Suitable for transport of highly precious always fatal.
and non-bulky goods.  More thorough security checking due to the
growth of terrorism.
 Deteriorating services of the PIA as well as
the private airlines.
 Poor maintenance and repair has led to a
greater number of accidents.
 Delays due to poor management, heavy
snowfall, poor visibility due to fog, and
interference by the high profile political
figures: the so called VIP (Very important
personality) culture in Pakistan.

Waterways

Sindh Cost Makran Coast

Keamari Port Port Qasim Gwadar Port
 In west of Karachi  S.E OF Karachi  Located on Makran
 Natural deep-sea port  Built at Gharo creek  Coast in Baluchistan
 Has number of wharves  Natural deep sea port  Constructed with help of of
 Built in 1980 China
 Integrated port  Can help in the 6
 Industrial states %development of Baluchistan
by exporting Fruits, fish and
minerals

- Free industrial zones can be setup- can serve Afghanistan and

- Balochistan can become hub of Central Asian countries for international sea traffic. Export to
the world (transit fee)
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What steps have been taken to modernize the Karachi seaport?

 the building of a liquid-product terminal
 the building of flyover bridges to avoid the city traffic congestion
 there has been reconstruction and rehabilitation of berths to handle more cargo
 there has been the provision of navigational aids and radar
 provision had been made for environmental protection equipment to clean up pollutants and oil
spills
 container terminals on the west wharf have been built to handle modern cargo

Where is Port Qasim situated?

Gharo Creek

Why was Port Qasim built, and how does its site suit its purpose?
 To import raw materials (iron ore and coking coal) for the Pakistan Steel Mills
 Its site was large, and it also had deep waters to suit the huge cargo ships

What makes Port Qasim different from the Karachi seaport?

It is a deep-sea port, to handle larger container ships

Communication
Communication is simply the act of transferring information from one place, person or group to another.
Every communication involves (at least) one sender, a message and a recipient. ... This page explains
more about what we mean by 'communication'

Telecommunication
Radio TV Fax Telephone Mobile Internet Computer

Internet Computer:
Advantage Disadvantage
 Send/Receive email  Bullying, trolls, stalkers, and crime. ...
 Voice message  Pornographic and violent images. ...
 To create website (world wide web www)  Addiction, time waster, and causes
 Use these websites to get information distractions. ...
 Never being able to disconnect from work.
...
Geography O-Level P-2 Notes by Javed Kausar 12 Unit 11: Transport and communication
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 Identity theft, hacking, viruses, and

cheating. ...
 Depression, loneliness, and social
isolation.

Mobile:
 Send /Receive Text messages
 Spoken communication

Importance of Telecommunication in Pakistan

Education Distance Learning In the classroom
 By making distance learning  A.I.O.U  Correspondence  Use of
possible  special courses radio and TV multimedia
 By bringing more information to programmes  Use of
classroom for pupils learning  Virtual university computers
 Teacher training courses by
radio, TV, internet

Industrial Development and Marketing

 New technology to improve quality of products: Speedy access, quick ordering and
importing of produce without delay can help to improve the quality of products
 International companies: Branch offices of various international companies are management
by head office in Europe and America through fast and effective telecommunication.
 Advertisements: Industrial products can be launched with the help of advertisement on radio,
TV and internet for local and international markets.
 Market opportunities: New market opportunities for business growth. For better
understanding of market trends.
 E-commerce: quick transactions of money, online banking,
 Use of ATM machines.

How can telecommunications help education?

 There can be distance learning, e.g. through the Allama Iqbal Open University, and the Virtual
University (VI)
 There can be correspondence courses via the internet
 There can be ‘Teacher Training Programmes’ via radio, the TV and computers
 Videos, computers, smart boards can be used in classrooms as aids for teaching students

What plans does the government have to improve telecommunications?

 To develop widespread infrastructure for developing telecommunications
 To provide internet services at airports, railways, post offices etc.
 To encourage education channels on TV
 To invest in IT training
 To encourage the software industry (with also using Urdu)
 To encourage software use in government department, education and business
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Study Fig. 1, a map showing the rail network in Pakistan.

Name the three provinces X, Y and Z.

 X = Balochistan
 Y = Punjab
 Z = Sindh

Using Fig. 1 only, identify two countries that have international rail links with Pakistan.
 Iran
 India

Using Fig. 1 only, describe the regional variations of the rail network in Pakistan.
 Northern Pakistan / FATA has no / few rail networks;
 Dense network in Punjab;
 Sparse network in Balochistan / South / Southwest / one line in Balochistan;
 There are two lines in central KPK;
 Medium / moderate network in Sindh;
 More around major cities;
 More railways in East / more railways in North East (or opposites).

Sample Question
Give the advantages and disadvantages for transport of each of the following: rail, road, air and
ship.
Rail:

Advantages Disadvantages
good for long distances its efficiency is hampered by overstaffing and
more economical for heavy and bulky goods corruption
overall, a cheaper means of transport there are insufficient carriages (for passengers)
and wagons (for freight)
they only go from station to station
they are only set up on the plains and to Quetta,
(Balochistan)
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Roads:

Advantages Disadvantages
they provide a door to door service traffic can be slowed down by congestion
they are cheaper to build and maintain they are expensive and tiring over long distances
because they are cheaper, they even cover many they can only carry limited loads
mountainous/rugged areas
they are faster for short distances

Air:

Advantages Disadvantages
it is good for fast travel it is an expensive means of transport
it is good for the transportation of perishables and it is limited by delays on account of bad weather
light-weight goods
it is quick in times of emergency help
it can even reach inaccessible areas

Ship:

Advantages Disadvantages
it is the cheapest form of transport for imports and it can only be used for sea transport from ports
exports it takes a long time
it can carry very large cargoes