Impact of Railways on Economy and Society

The impact of development and expansion on the economy and society is enormous. The construction and expansion of the railways have improved the economy of the country appreciably. Railways have played a significant role in the development of cotton textile industry in Maharashtra and Gujarat; jute industry in Hugh Basin; coal industry in Chhattisgarh,Jharkhand, Mahar ashtra, Odisha, and West Bengal; tea-plantation and petro-chemical industries in Assam and West Bengal. In the post-independence period, railways have helped substantially in setting up of industries in the under-developed and backward areas (Bhilai, Bokaro, Durgapur, Raurkela, etc.), of isolation and relative isolation. Railways have played an important role in the transportation of grains, and chemical fertilizers in the regions of Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh where Green Revolution is a success.