CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION TO TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING NPTEL May 7, 2007 Chapter 1 Introduction to transportation engineering 1.1 Overview Mobility is a basic human need. From the times immemorial, everyone travels either for food or leisure. A closely associated need is the transport of raw materials to a manufacturing unit or finished goods for consumption. Transportation fulfills these basic needs of humanity. Transportation plays a major role in the development of the human civilization. For instance, one could easily observe the strong correlation between the evolution of human settlement and the proximity of transport facilities. Also, there is a strong correlation between the quality of transport facilities and standard of living, because of which society places a great expectation from transportation facilities. In other words, the solution to transportation problems must be analytically based, economically sound, socially credible, environmentally sensitive, practically acceptable and sustainable. Alternatively, the transportation solution should be safe, rapid, comfortable, convenient, economical, and ecofriendly for both men and material. 1.2 Transportation system In the last couple of decades transportation systems analysis has emerged as a recognized profession. More and more government organizations, universities, researchers, consultants, and private industrial groups around the world are becoming truly multi-modal in their orientation and are opting a systematic approach to transportation problems.
1.2.1 Diverse characteristics The characteristics of transportation system that makes it diverse and complex are listed below: 1. Multi-modal: Covering all modes of transport; air, land, and sea for both passenger and freight. 2. Multi-sector: Encompassing the problems and viewpoints of government, private industry, and public. 3. Multi-problem: Ranging across a spectrum of issues that includes national and international policy, planning of regional system, the location and design of specific facilities, carrier management issues, regulatory, institutional and financial policies. Introduction to Transportation Engineering 1.1 Tom V. Mathew and K V Krishna Rao CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION TO TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING NPTEL May 7, 2007 4. Multi-objective: Aiming at national and regional economic development, urban development, environment quality, and social quality, as well as service to users and financial and economic feasibility. 5. Multi-disciplinary: Drawing on the theories and methods of engineering, economics, operations research, political science, psychology, other natural, and social sciences, management and law. 1.2.2 Study context The context in which transportation system is studied is also very diverse and are mentioned below: 1. Planning range: Urban transportation planning, producing long range plans for 5-25 years for multimodal transportation systems in urban areas as well as short range programs of action for less than five years. 2. Passenger transport: Regional passenger transportation, dealing with inter-city passenger transport by air, rail, and highway and possible with new modes. 3. Freight transport: Routing and management, choice of different modes of rail and truck. 4. International transport: Issues such as containerization, inter-modal co-ordination. 1.2.3 Background: A changing world The strong interrelationship and the interaction between transportation and the rest of the society especially
in a rapidly changing world is significant to a transportation planner. Among them four critical dimensions of change in transportation system