Andhra Pradesh is well connected to other states with road, rail. It is also connected to other countries by means airways and seaports as well. With a long seacoast along the Bay of Bengal, it also has many ports for sea trade. The state has one of the largest railway junctions at Vijayawada and one of the largest seaport at Visakhapatnam.
Road transport and highways:
Andhra Pradesh has an extensive road network of 146,954 km with 42,511 km of State Highways, 3,144 km of National Highways (India) and 101,484 km of District Roads. Andhra Pradesh Road Development Corporation (APRDC), (established 1998) is responsible for Maintenance and Management of roads.
National Highways and state highways connects to every village and town within the state, as well as to major cities of neighboring states. National Highway 5, with a highway network of around 1,000 km runs from Srikakulam district to Nellore district. It is also a part of Golden Quadrilateral Project undertaken by National Highways Development Project and also forms part of AH 45 under the Asian Highway Network.
The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation operates public bus services in the state owned by the state government. It operates thousands of buses connecting different parts of the state even to small villages due to presence of huge network of roads. Pandit Nehru Bus Station in Vijayawada is the largest bus terminus in the state. Besides APSRTC, there are thousands of private buses that connect major cities and towns of Andhra Pradesh.
National Highways that pass through Andhra Pradesh include NH 4, NH 5, NH 7, NH 9, NH 18, NH 18A, NH 43, NH 63, NH 205, NH 214, NH 214A, NH 219, NH 221, NH 234. State highways include SH 2, SH 188. In the cities and adjoining villages, auto-rickshaws serve the requirements of the local transport.
Railways:
Andhra Pradesh has a railway network of 4,400 km with many express trains and passengers serving the state population. They have played a significant role in boosting the economy of the state alongside developing the industrial and the tourism sectors.
One of the highest broad gauge tracks in the world is in eastern ghats route that runs from Visakhapatnam to Anantagiri. Most of Andhra Pradesh falls under South Central Railway zone with Vijayawada, Guntur and Guntakal divisions. The north coastal districts of Srikakulam district, Vizianagaram district and Visakhapatnam district are under Waltair Railway division of East Coast Railway zone.
Waltair Railway Division under East Coast Railway zone, is the fourth largest revenue earning division in India.
Vijayawada railway station is the highest grosser in the South Central Railway zone and one of busiest railway junctions in India. The revenue generated from the railways divisions in the state is mainly due to tourist places of religious importance like Tirupati, Srisailam etc. Also, minerals exports of iron ore, barites, lime stone etc. increase the revenues. The commercial, industrial, and port activities too generate income.
Vijayawada Junction is the busiest junction of South Central Railway.
Airports:
The state has one International airport in Vishakhapatnam. It is a customs airport. It serves more than 10 lakhpassengers annually. It operates flights to Singapore, Sharjah and domestic services as well.
There are five domestic airports at
- Vijayawada,
- Rajahmundry,
- Puttaparthi,
- Kadapa and
Vijayawada Airport is the hub of Indian regional airliner Air Costa. There are plans to develop International airports and also to set up few more domestic airports at other important towns.
Seaports
Visakhapatnam Port
In India, Andhra Pradesh has the second longest coastline of 972 km after Gujarat.Visakhapatnam, the largest port in the state is also one of the largest ports in terms of handling cargo in the country.There is a passenger service of cruise from Visakhapatnam to Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands).
Other important ports are
- Krishnapatnam Port (Nellore district),
- Gangavaram Port (Visakhapatnam) and
- Kakinada Port.
Gangavaram Port is a deep seaport that can accommodate ocean liners up to 200,000–250,000 Deadweight tonnage. Andhra Pradesh ports authority is developing other minor ports in the PPP mode.
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