Good information, giving total scenario of the logistics sector in India. Following table gives total picture of the past 10years.
Parameter----------------Road------------Rail----- ------Water-Way-----Pipeline--------
(1) Transportation------(200-300)------(120-150)-----( 20-30)---------(12-15)
cost in Paise/ TKM
(2)...
more...

Relative Ratio of---20times--------10times-------2 times---------unity (cheapest)
the transportation cost
(3) % Share in-----------54.36-----------32.65-----------6.0-- -------------6.99
national traffic
(4) Investment made
in (10th,11th plans)
in Lacs Crores Rs–----4.06------------3.06-------------0.64------ --------1.6
(5) % share in the
total investment--------43.54----------32.05------------ 6.83------------17.13
(1) Above table shows that pipe line liquid/slurry transportation is the most cost effective and the best mode of transportation, but it has severe limitation that only liquid can be transported. Performance of India in this sector is impressive as a substantial investments have been made and a respectable 17% of traffic share is good for Indian Economy. Majority of pertoleum/LNG/petro-products are being transported by pipelines.
(2) Next best mode i.e. waterway is the most neglected sector which is carrying 6.8% of traffic and minimal investments have been done in this sector. Limitations are of this mode are the necessity of availability of navigable rivers and coastal regions. Most of the growth has been due to much better performance of pvt. sector which is gradually gaining prominence in this sector, which otherwise was almost fully govt owned. Sagarmala and other projects have been formulated to invest heavily in this sector so as to increase the share of water traffic to a desired level of 12%.
The above 2 modes of transport are distinctly cheaper than the remaining two. It would be in the interest of Indian economy and betterment of Indian citizens, to transport as much of goods through these two means as possible.
(3) The next best mode being the railways, the investment has been very low in the 10yr. period. As a result the share of rail traffic is falling fast.Maximum investment has been done in the most inefficient and costly sector i.e. road ways. In order to reduce the logistics and give boost to Indian industry/agriculture//exports/economy/GDP/per capita income, standard of living of Indians etc following is required:
(A) Transport of maximum almost all liquid goods like petroleum/ petro products/ LNG/ fine ores by way of slurry through the very cheap pipelines.
(B) Transport maximum of the remaining bulk solid and other solid materials by rail. Transportation of non bulk goods for short distance is preferable by road.
(C) If India can achieve success in promoting the efficient modes of transport and achieved the ratio of transportation in the following ratio:
Pipeline from 6.83% to 8%
Waterways from 6% to 12%
Railways from 32.65% to 50%
Roadways from 54.36 to 30%,
Then the logistics cost of our country shall be reduced by about 19%-21%.
(D) As a result, the logistics cost which is about 19% of GDP (i.e. 26.3 lac Crore Rs) at present, shall come down to a figure of 15% to 15.6 %.(i.e.20.8 to 21.6 lac Crore Rs) i.e. a reduction of (3.4-4%) or a national saving of (4.7-5.5) lac Crore Rs.!
Note:- GDP of India as per world bank is 2.1 trillion US Dollars 1.e. about 1.4 Crore Crore Rs. so 1% of GDP-1.4 Lac Crore Rs.
(E) Even then, further reduction in the national logistics cost is possible by improving the much needed efficiency in Railway sector which is costing much higher i.e 40 to 50% of the cost for Road sector, in spite of being much lesser 15-20% rail-friction/energy/fuel consumption in addition to huge benefits of unprecedentedly high economies of scales in Rly sector!
The mega plans under consideration for the Highways and shipping appear truly grand and are very much in-line to reduce the logistics costs of India. But the continued over emphasis (relatively very high investments) in the most inefficient road sector remains a matter of concern, which is extremely detrimental to the Railway sector as well as nation. Inefficient IR, efficient road line operators and the vested interests of road lobby have killed the prospects of the due development of railway sector which should have taken place in India.