From Electric Buses To Ropeways! News24 –

Nitin Gadkari has never shied away from detailing his plans for the next step in the overall genesis and advancement of public transport facilities and highways in the nation. In a recent interview with PTI he spoke about the next step in Mass Mobility in the country which would include Electric Rapid Transport Hyperloop in Urban Areas and Ropeways, Cable Buses and Funicular Railways in Inaccessible Terrains. 

He further listed how India’s transport sector is up for a major transformation, and to ensure sustainability of all such developments initiatives like Tree Bank, Mobile based Driving tests and Flex Fuel Engines by 11 leading automakers are in the pipeline. The comprehensive plans also include upgrading 25,000 Km of two lane highways to four lanes, establishing an electric rapid control network across major routes and scale up road construction. 

The development would not be limited only to urban areas, the government seeks to develop hilly areas as well with Funicular Railways, a system that combines elevator and railway technologies to efficiently transport people up and down inclines. 

New Hyperloop Systems And Metrino Pod Taxis

Nitin Gadkari further stated that such projects would range from Rs 200 crore to Rs 5,000 Crore and Once completed, they would change the face of India. The improved road infrastructure would boost the economy  and would also help the nation grow further.  The entirety of the plans would further include Metrino Pod Taxis, Hyperloop Systems, and Pillar-based mass rapid transport are under development for cities like Delhi and Bangalore. 

Further he also revealed that Eleven Companies including Tata, Toyota and Hyundai and Mahindra have agreed to build flex fuel engine vehicles that would reduce dependence on fuel imports as well as fossil fuels. To further aid travel across the nation the minister said that they have been working on 25,000 km worth of road upgrades for converting two lane roads into four lane highways. 

To ensure that such new advancements are executed in time without any safety concerns new technologies such as Pre- cast Construction, Three Ft road barriers and Ai based road safety tools , including drones and camera monitoring systems would be introduced soon. 

Sustainable Development

To ensure that such rapid development does not take a toll on the environment, talks for a tree bank are in advanced stages with the Ministry of Environment. To further aid sustainable public transport Gadkari revealed that a new Pilot project has been floated for a 135-seater electric bus in Nagpur as a pilot project, as per a report by PTI. 

He further revealed that India’s transport Sector contributes close to 40% to the country’s air pollution and emphasized that green mobility initiatives will not only help curb emissions but also reduce the nation’s annual fuel import bill, of around Rs 22 lakh. He further claimed that improved logistics would help bring down logistics costs.