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Delhi to Mumbai in straight 12 hours, that too by road? Possible courtesy new expressway

The current distance between the two metropolitan cities through NH8 is 1,450 km and after the completion of the expressway project, it will be cut down to approximately 1,250 km.

If everything goes according to plan, the road distance between Delhi and Mumbai would soon be covered in just 11-12 hours. This would be possible as the two metro cities would be connected through an expressway, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday.

The expressway, built at a cost of around Rs 1 lakh crore, would significantly reduce travel time between the two cities, said Gadkari. This will be a big sigh of relief to those who frequently travel between Delhi and Mumbai as the proposed expressway would cut down the travel time – from an arduous 24-hour journey to only 12 hours.

The proposed project will also cut travel distance between the two metros by 125 kilometers. The current distance between the two metropolitan cities through NH8 is 1,450 km and after the completion of the expressway project, it will be cut down to approximately 1,250 km.

Gadkari also informed that the new alignment for the greenfield Delhi-Mumbai express highway is likely to reduce land acquisition cost by up to Rs 20,000 crore as the highway will travel through backward and undeveloped areas. The minister said as compared to the land acquisition cost of Rs 7 crore per hectare for the existing highway between Delhi and Mumbai, the new alignment will see land acquisition cost to reduce to Rs 70 to 80 lakh per hectare.

“Land acquisition for the new Delhi-Mumbai express highway will cost Rs 16,000 crore to Rs 20,000 crore less. The new alignment will be from Ring Road of Delhi to Jaipur to Alwar from where it will reach Sawai Madhopur to Mumbai via Vadodara,” the Road Transport & Highways minister said on the sidelines of an event in the national capital. It is reported that the Delhi-Mumbai expressway will begin from Rajiv Chowk in Gurgaon.

Addressing an event by Transport Corporation of India (TCI) for the launch of “Insurance Requirements of the Indian Logistics & Warehousing industry and their Customers,” Gadkari said. The minister said the new express highway will result in the reduction of the logistics cost and will develop the socially backward areas in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

He said compared to trucks travelling an average 800 km per day in the US, in India they travelled only 200-250 km.
“I assure you that next year, we will make sure that trucks are able to travel an average of 400 km per day,” he said.

(with inputs from agencies)