Gadkari in Gurugram: Electric ropeway, rail projects on the cards to ease commute between Gurugram and Delhi

Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari, while speaking at a gathering in Sohna on Thursday, said that the proposed cable car was his “dream project” but it could not be executed earlier as innovative mobility solutions such as ropeways, cable cars and funicular railways were not under his mandate earlier. These mobility solutions were given to the transport ministry recently

The Union transport ministry is considering an electric ropeway and electric rail projects to ease commute between Gurugram and Delhi. While the ropeway project, which was earlier proposed as a pod taxi project, will connect Dhaula Kuan and Kherki Daula on the NH-48, while the electric rail project is under consideration for Dwarka Expressway, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said during a visit to Gurugram on Thursday.

An electric ropeway project is under consideration and the ministry would conduct a feasibility study for the project to connect Dhaula Kuan and Kherki Daula. Such projects will not only ease commuting but also reduce pollution, said Gadkari in Gurugram (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had announced an electric ropeway project on the National Highway (NH-48) in 2015, but there has been little progress on the project.

Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari, while speaking at a gathering in Sohna on Thursday, said that the proposed cable car was his “dream project” but it could not be executed earlier as innovative mobility solutions such as ropeways, cable cars and funicular railways were not under his mandate earlier. These mobility solutions were given to the transport ministry recently.

“The ropeway project is under consideration and the ministry would conduct a feasibility study for the project to connect Dhaula Kuan and Kherki Daula. Such projects will not only ease commuting but also reduce pollution,” he said.

Gurugram Lok Sabha member, Rao Inderjit Singh, said that the “futuristic transport projects should be planned on the lines of Rapid Rail project”, which is being set up along the main carriageway of Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway. “No land acquisition has been done for this project and similar projects could be set up on Dwarka Expressway and Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway,” he said.

Gadkari announced that the Sohna elevated road, being constructed at a cost of ₹1,700 crore, will be completed by March 2022. Likewise, the Dwarka Expressway in Gurugram would be completed by December 2022. “The completion of both these roads would ease traffic movement in the city,” he said.

Referring to the incident where a concrete span had collapsed on Dwarka Expressway a few months ago, the minister said that NHAI would look into every aspect of the incident and that a report has also been filed by a technical committee in this regard.

Gadkari said that for better roads, commuters will have to pay toll as world-class facilities can be made and maintained only if the user is ready to pay. “Better roads reduce travel time, cut pollution and ensure savings in the long run,” he said.