India plans 1,200 km e-highway on Delhi-Mumbai Expressway for electric vehicles
The Indian government plans to construct a separate e-highway on the 1,300-kilometre-long Delhi-Mumbai Expressway where trucks and buses can run at a speed of 120 kilometres per hour.
Replying to a query during Question Hour in Lok Sabha, Road Transport and Highway Minister Nitin Gadkari said, “We are trying to build ‘e-highway’ on the 1,300-km highway between Delhi and Mumbai.” He adds that the step is expected to bring logistics cost down by 70 per cent.
Replying to another question, the minister said, Rs 60,000 crore has been spent on constructing roads like Dwarka Expressway, the eastern and the western express bypass which will reduce air pollution in Delhi.
Earlier, addressing Virtual National Roads & Highways Summit, Gadkari said that the Government is developing 22 Greenfield corridors, including five express highways and 17 access control highways. He said that in terms of road connectivity, significant work is being done under Golden Quadrilateral Project, NHDP program, Bharatmala, PMGSY, SetuBharatam, and Sagarmala Project. He specifically mentioned Delhi-Meerut Expressway, which will reduce travel time between the two cities to just 45 minutes in next two months, from present time of around four hours.
The Minister also said that the Government is working on priority for public transportation system on electricity. He mentioned the milestone of construction of 12,205 kilometres of National Highways from April, 2020 till date, at a rate of 34 kilometres per day.
