New Delhi: The central government is reportedly planning to build an electric highway between Delhi and Mumbai. Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari touched on the project while speaking at an event organized by the Hydraulic Trailer Owners Association, PTI reported. Gadkari urged heavy vehicle owners to use alternative fuels to reduce pollution.
Gadkari did not elaborate on the new electric highway project other than to say that trolley trucks will be plying on these roads as well as trolleybuses. A trolleybus or trolley truck is a bus or truck that draws electricity from an external source to run the onboard electric motors that power the wheels.
Generally, the external power source is overhead high voltage cables. Meanwhile, an electric highway refers to a roadway that can provide electric power to the vehicles running on it.
He added that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has decided to connect all the districts of the country with the help of four-lane roads.
Besides touching on the project of the electric highway, Gadkari called upon heavy vehicle operators to switch to green fuels, citing alternatives like ethanol, green hydrogen and methanol.
The Union Transport Minister has been pushing the issue of alternative fuels in recent months, including calling on carmakers to develop flex-fuel engines and switching to green fuels such as ethanol and green hydrogen in the coming years.
Gadkari also touched on the issue of road safety highlighting the need for better-trained drivers and said that all RTO-based services will be shifted online.
With PTI inputs