In an interesting turn of events, India will have its first e-highway Delhi Mumbai Expressway which is under construction. India has launched a massive programme, called ‘Sagar Mala project’, under which new mega ports are being built, India’s existing ports are being modernized, the network of metros are being extended, etc. A country can develop only when it has good quality infrastructure.
Under this programme, the Indian government is now working on electric-highway with the objective of upgrading the network of highways and reducing air pollution. India’s Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari came up with the concept of building an e-highway from Delhi to Mumbai and the Cabinet gave ‘green light’ for the construction of the whopping 1,300 km expressway, which will be the first e-highway in India. he was highly appreciated for the same. At first, a 10km pilot electric-highway will be built with overhead electric lines to power the engines of trucks and buses.
The pilot will be carried out by the Road Transport and Highways Ministry in collaboration with the Heavy Industries Department. According to sources, around Rs2bn ($29m) will be invested for the first 10km section of e-highway. e-trucks will be built that will run on electricity. Truck makers companies will manufacture some prototypes for testing purposes.
Gadkari said: “Trucks of 80t will be deployed and these will have electric cable to draw power from the overhead cable network. There will be two tracks and trucks with containers can run at 100km/h.
“The trucks will run on electricity for 20km and the battery will get charged to run on stretches where there is no overhead wire. Again, after some kilometres, these can tap the overhead wire and simultaneously get charged again while running.”
Other countries are also working on the concept of e-highway so it is not a new concept. The Indian government is now working on this idea which will ultimately reduce air pollution and will keep the environment clean. Apart from this, it will help the Centre save Rs 16,000 crore on land acquisition. This e-highway connects New Delhi and Mumbai and it has been said that this project will require an investment of about 1 lakh crore. It will be 1,300 km, 12-lane green highway, and a target has been set to complete it before 2024.
India’s significant project will pass through the economically backward areas of Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. To complete the project, the government is also discussing with companies who have the technology in Germany, USA, Sweden for electric doubledecker bus and electric truck. A total of eighteen charging stations will be set up on the two routes. There will be eight stations between Delhi-Agra and 10 stations between Delhi-Jaipur. Besides charging their vehicles, people can also change batteries. Every station will have eight to ten chargers and 20 charging points.
