Transport in Visakhapatnam is the network of roads, railways, rapid transit system in the largest city ofAndhra Pradesh. The city ofVisakhapatnam also serves as the central hub of transport and logistics on the East coast ofIndia and hence it is called asCity Of Destiny.
There are various modes of transportation available inVisakhapatnam. It includes auto rickshaws, bicycles to mass transit systems such as buses and trains. Visakhapatnam is also home for a Seaport and an International Airport.
Visakhapatnam is integrated into the National Highway Network of India through NH 16, NH 516C, NH 516D, NH 516E, while two State Highways SH38, SH39 originate/terminate in Vizag. Visakhapatnam has a vehicle population of nearly 12 lakhs and is the highest in the state.
The city has a total road length of 2,007.10 km (1,247.15 mi), covering 1,865 km (1,159 mi) of municipal roads, 70.10 km (43.56 mi) of Roads & Buildings department roads and 72 km (45 mi) ofNational highways.[1] There are severalarterial roads and ten junctions in the city,[2] whereBeach Road,Dabagardens Road,Dwarakanagar road, Sampath Vinayak Temple Road (also known as VIP road),[3] Scindia Road,[4]Chitralaya Road[5] andwaltair Main road[6] are some of them.Jagadamba Centre,Maddilapalem Junction,[7][8]Siripuram Junction,Madhurawada Junction,Gajuwaka Junction,Gopalapatnam Junction andNAD X Road, Kurnmannapalem Junction are major junctions in the city.
There are plans to upgrade National highwayNH 16 that is presently passing through city and shift it to newly constructingAnakapalle -Anandapuram Highway, so that unnecessary traffic passing through city can be regulated.[4]
Bus Transit is the major mode of passenger transport in the city. Within the municipal limits of the city,APSRTC plies nearly 600 City bus services in the region which serve lakhs of commuters in city daily fromDwaraka Central Bus Station Complex,Maddilapalem bus station,[9]MVP Colony bus station,Gajuwaka Bus station,[10]Simhachalam bus station,[11]Kurmannapalem bus station[12] andMadhurawada bus station.
The City has one of the best Bus Transit system in India, with many Bus lines. Some of the popular lines are Bus no. 55,111 etc.. . These Bus lines connect the City's outskirts and different Commercial and Economic Centres likePendurthi,Gajuwaka,Anakapalli,Madhurawada,Anandapuram,Bheemunipatnam,Kothavalasa and many more Villages and towns.
AlsoAPSRTC plies various interstate and distant buses fromDwaraka Central Bus Station Complex or APSRTC Bus Complex,Kurmannapalem Bus station,Maddilapalem bus station,Simhachalam bus station andMadhurawada Bus Station to major parts of the State and neighboring states likeTelangana,Karnataka,Tamil Nadu,Odisha andChhattisgarh. There are kinds of buses that ply in city namely:
Visakhapatnam Bus Rapid Transit System was completely operational.[13]
Vehicle for hire companies serving localities daily areOla andUber, WhileRapido gives rides for one person only. Private tour operators serve for commuting in major lines. Also there areMini Vans that commute people from short and long distances ranging from 10 km to 100 km.
Cycle rickshaws are only confined to a very small area of the city and are almost disappeared, which were one of the major means of transport.[14] Cycling paths are under construction inVizag. By 2017, Vizag will be AP's first city to get such bike stations.[15] All India Bicycling Federation is planning to build 20-25 bicycle stations in the city, each hosting 25 bicycles. This project costs around₹200 crore (US$24 million). GVMC plans to introduce a community cycling initiative over 10.5 km2 of roads in downtown Visakhapatnam, under theJawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. In the central parts of the city, cycling tracks will be earmarked on 100-feet roads to a width of about 8 feet.[16]
Train Transit is the major mode of transportation in the city, as the city is a hub for Major Industrial buildings, Employees and Goods are transported through trains. Visakhapatnam is the headquarters ofSouth Coast Railway zone of Indian Railways.Visakhapatnam Junction railway station is an A1 station with the highest gross revenue in theWaltair railway division. There are plans to modernize this railway stations under station modernization launched by union government.[17] Because present railway station is a terminal building and several constrains, Division has identifiedMarripalem as an option and is planning to make it an alternative for present station, that can bring trains ignoring city's main station. Other important railway stations in the city are:
Vizag Metro is approved mass transit project soon to be constructed.GVMC has identified four corridors for mass rapid transit (MRT) covering a total distance of 75.3 km at an estimated cost of ₹15,933 crore. The first phase, extending over 46.40 km, is expected to be completed by 2025. They are Steel Plant to Kommadi junction covering a distance of 34.23 km,Gurudwara to Old Post Office covering 5.26 km,Tatichetlapalem to China Waltair covering 6.91 km and Kommadi toBhogapuram Airport, covering a distance of 28.91 km.[18] It is estimated to cost₹15,933 crore (US$1.9 billion) for the construction of these corridors.
The Metro will have Asia's longest double decker flyover. There will be a flyover for which above there will be another layer for the metro.
The Metro is aimed to be constructed by 2028. It is a key project for APMRC which is the main corporation which had proposed and planned the project. After it is completed this project will transform Visakhapatnam's Transport sector.
Govt ofAndhra Pradesh has planned to build tracklesstram services in Visakhapatnam for a length of 60.2 km.[19] This tram would be included in four corridors namelyNAD X Roads -Pendurthi,Steel Plant -Anakapalle, Old post office -Rushikonda andRushikonda -Bheemunipatnam.
Visakhapatnam International Airport, situated to the North-East of Andhra Pradesh, is the main gateway for the city's domestic and international civilian air traffic. In 2017–18, the airport handled more than 2.8 million passengers.Hyderabad,Bangalore,Chennai,Delhi,Kolkata,Mumbai,Vijayawada,[20]Tirupati,Dubai,Singapore andKuala Lumpur are the major Airway destinations from city airport. Annually, 7.47 lakh passengers travelled on the Visakhapatnam-Hyderabad route, followed by 4.90 lakh passengers on the Visakhapatnam-Bengaluru.[21]
Construction of Greenfield Airport nearBhogapuram in 2,703acres is on its way that could probably meet needs ofVisakhapatnam city now. State government has handed over the construction process toGMR Airports Limited .[19]
This Airport will act as a Trade hub in the Heart ofVisakhapatnam,Vizianagaram andSrikakulam. It will be one of the largest Airport in Andhra Pradesh and stand as an important Trade Hub in India in its coming future.
Visakhapatnam Port is one of 13 majorports in India and the only major port ofAndhra Pradesh. It is India's second largest port by volume of cargo handled in the nation.[23] It is located on the east coast ofIndia and is located midway between theChennai andKolkata Ports.[24] Visakhapatnam Port has threeharbors - the outer harbor, inner harbor and thefishing harbor. The outer harbor has 6 berths capable of handling vessels with a draft up to 17 meters while the smaller inner harbor has 18 berths that arePanamax compatible. Vizag Seaport owns two berths in the inner harbor; berth EQ-8 is fully mechanized and berth EQ-9 berth is not. Iron ore, manganese ore, steel products, general cargo, coal and crude oil are the main commodities handled at this port.
Visakhapatnam Port is undergoing a modernization and expansion program aimed at increasing its capacity to 130 million tonnes by 2016–17, entailing an investment of ₹13,000 crores. This will also solve the problem of air pollution caused by the open handling of coal that had earlier led to citywide protests.
TheVisakhapatnam Port Trust plans to develop a satellite port atBheemunipatnam to decongest traffic at Visakhapatnam. The project is expected to cost₹2,000 crore (US$240 million) and is to be undertaken through aPublic- Private Partnership (PPP)venture. Also govt plans to have a new port atNakkapalli.[25][24]
Another major port in Visakhapatnam isGangavaram port which is considered as deep port. It can handle vessels up to 2,00,000 DWT. TheRashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) which runs theVizag Steel Plant had shifted base to this port, taking with it a large chunk of the coal and iron ore traffic.
Cruise Shipping is operational betweenVisakhapatnam andAndaman and Nicobar Islands.[26] There are plans to launch cruises toKakinada.[24]
