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Ahmedabad/Surat: Vehicle owners in India may soon bid farewell to long queues at toll plazas. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is set to begin trial operations of the country’s first multi-lane, barrier-free toll plaza on February 2 in Kamrej, Surat, marking a major step towards modernizing the nation’s highways. Currently, vehicles must stop at toll booths, often leading to long waiting lines. To address this, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had announced plans to upgrade toll plazas and introduce a barrier-free toll collection system across India. The new system will replace conventional toll booths and manual toll collection, allowing vehicles to pass through without slowing down. How the Barrier-Free System WorksAccording to NHAI officials, the system uses Automatic N...

Ahmedabad: Indian Railways is once again making headlines with its modern, semi-high-speed Amrit Bharat Express, now undergoing trial runs on the Ahmedabad–Mumbai route. The train can reach a maximum speed of 130 km/h, and the route has been deemed safe for operations. Here’s a look at the Railway’s preparation and plans for this new service. Following the success of the Vande Bharat trains, the Amrit Bharat Express is equipped with advanced facilities and is already operational on several routes across India. Once fully rolled out, the number of Amrit Bharat Express trains is expected to rise from 30 to 39. Currently, the trial runs are being conducted between Ahmedabad and Mumbai—the same corridor earmarked for the upcoming high-speed bullet train. According to sources, the Research D...