The Central Government is reportedly planning to construct an electric highway between Delhi and Mumbai. As per a PTI report, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari touched upon the plan while addressing an event organised by the Hydraulic Trailer Owners Association. Gadkari also urged heavy vehicle owners to move to using alternative fuels to reduce pollution.
Gadkari did not go into much detail on the new electric highway project aside from saying that like trolleybuses, trolley trucks could also operate on these roads. A trolleybus or trolley truck is essential a bus or truck that draws power from an external source to run on-board electric motors that power the wheels. Generally, the external power source are overhead high voltage cables. An electric highway meanwhile refers to a roadway capable of supplying electrical power to vehicles operating on it.
Gadkari also said that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had also decided to connect all districts in the country though four lane highways.
Aside from touching on the plan for an electric highway, Gadkari also called on heavy vehicle operators to switch to greener fuels citing alternatives such as ethanol, green hydrogen, and methanol. The Union Transport Minister has been pushing the topic of alternative fuels in recent months including calling for carmakers to develop flex-fuel engines and calling for the switch towards using greener fuels such as ethanol and green hydrogen in the coming years.
Gadkari also touched on the point of road safety highlight the need for better trained drivers as well as saying that all RTO-based services would be moved online.
