Chennai-B’luru drive to take 2 hrs from Jan, claims Gadkari

CHENNAI: Come January 2024, the much-awaited expressway between Chennai and Bengaluru — that will reduce the travel time to two hours — will come to fruition, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari said here on Thursday.

Work on expressways, such as the one connecting the two southern states and the one between Chennai and Delhi, is gaining momentum. Plans are also on to connect the city with Mumbai, he added.

Speaking at a function in the city, Gadkari gave a quick overview of the various road linkage networks across the nation and said the upcoming Surat-Chennai expressway is expected to reduce the distance between Delhi and Chennai by 300 kilometres.

Making a strong case for alternative fuel and seeing Hydrogen as the future fuel to drastically cut down the country’s reliance on fossil fuel imports (Rs 16 lakh crore), he said there is a great requirement for electric buses as it would cut down the costs immensely.

For instance, the BEST double-decker buses deployed in Mumbai, running on diesel, cost Rs 150 per km, whereas the expenditure on substitution electric buses is Rs 39 per km for non-AC and Rs 41 per km for an AC bus.

The minister also said the automobile industry is the growth engine of the country and since the time he took charge of the transport portfolio, India from 7th position (4.5 cr in size) has moved to 3rd slot with a size of 12.5 lakh crore vehicles.

“Two months before, we surpassed Japan,” he said, noting his mission is to make India number one.

Earlier, speaking at the event, Industry Minister TRB Rajaa showered encomiums on Gadkari, hailing him as a result-oriented leader. Rajaa also read out CM Stalin’s congratulatory message in absentia.