The fastest way to travel is by air. It is also the most expensive polluted the air the most. Still, aero plane are useful for busy people because India is a very big country. Planes can travel in a straight line from one place to another. They can also travel very fast- over 600km per hour. A train journey from Thiruvanathapuram to Delhi takes two days- south to south. A plane journey takes two hours. Planes go from one big Indian city to another. They can also go to other countries from Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad to Bangalore, Calcutta and Chennai.

These people all work to keep planes in the air. The pilot flies the plane. Air hostesses and look after the passengers. Airport officials make sure that travelers have the right papers and tickets. Engineers make sure that the planes are safe to fly in. cleaners clean the planes and airports. Luggage handlers take suitcases to and from the plane.

Air traffic controllers make sure that the planes do not crash when they are in the air or on the runway. Each of these workers plays an important part to make air travel safe and comfortable.

Workers on the waterways

People traveled by boat since the beginning of history. Thousands of years ago, people started to travel along rivers in simple boats made out of tree trunks. They cut a hollow into have the tree trunk and it became a boat! In the 10th century, the Cholas of southern Indian sent many ships to trade with China, south –East Asia and Persia. In those days, ship was moved by the wind blowing on the sails. In the middle of the 19th century, ships were powered by steam. Now, they are powered by diesel. Modern ships take goods like tea, cotton, spices, coal and rubber to other parts of the world. Although ships don’t use sails any more, we still call the people who work on them sailors.

A time line of boats and ships

Boats don’t just travel on the sea. In west Bengal, people transport goods along rivers. In Kerala, people transport goods along sea-inlets. Fishermen use large and small boats around all the coasts of India. Some are very modern; some are simple rowing or sailing boats –like those used hundreds of years ago.

Workers on the railways

The first was built from Mumbai (Bombay) to Thane in 1853 by the British. The British are people from Britain. They ruled India at the time when railway was built. The British then built railways. They transported goods to ports and sold Indian goods aboard. The railways helped the British become rich. In those days, railway engines were powered by steam, but now they are powered by electricity or diesel. Diesel, like petrol, is made from oil.

Since independence, we have built many more railways. We transport goods all over India on goods trains. These do not usually carry passengers (traveling people). There are several different kinds of passengers’ trains. Express trains are very fast and do not stop at small stations. Mail trains carry the post and are usually slower than express trains. There are also slow passenger trains which stop at each small station. Suburban trains take passengers who live outside the city centers and travel into the city to work. Train drivers, ticket collectors, ticket booking officers, sweepers, porters and station managers all work together to make our railway network one of the best in the world.