It’s a smooth ride on Delhi-Mumbai e-way on Day One of toll operations

Barring minor hiccups in the morning, toll operations on the Sohna-Dausa stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway were smooth on Wednesday, said NHAI officials, adding that no congestion was reported either at the toll plaza or on the highway during the day. Traffic marshals were deployed in good numbers at Khalilpur toll plaza and all exits/entry points of the highway to prevent the entry of motorcycles, three-wheelers and tractors, which are prohibited from using the high-speed access-controlled corridor.

Manohar Meena, intelligent traffic system consultant, NHAI, said traffic flow was smooth throughout the day.He also toured the entire stretch early in the morning to ensure that everything went smoothly.

“The only issue that arose was that several vehicles did not have FASTags and drivers were not ready to pay the penalty. Any vehicle which does not have a FASTag will have to pay double the toll fee. We were able to resolve the issue after convincing people that they either had to pay the penalty or turn back,” he said.

According to the notification issued by NHAI, the toll fee on the highway is based on the kilometre travelled. Vehicles entering from Sohna will have to pay a toll tax at Khalilpur, which is around 12km from Alipur, the zero point of the expressway.

A light vehicle will have to pay 90 for covering 19.8km till Khalilpur, 175 if it travels 66.58km till Shamshabad, 240 if it covers 102km till Seetal, 290 for the 129km till Pinan, and 395 up to Bhandarej toll plaza, which is at a distance of 181km from Khalilpur.

Mudit Garg, project director, PIU, Sohna, said traffic movement was smooth on the highway on Wednesday.

A key challenge faced by NHAI was stopping motorcycles, tractors and other makeshift vehicles from entering the carriageways as these could pose a danger to vehicles travelling at a high speed. “A large number of marshals were deployed on Wednesday to stop these vehicles and we were successful in doing so. The control room is also monitoring the traffic round the clock,” said Meena.

Commuters to Jaipur, meanwhile, said they are taking the highway to see ascertain the time saved and also to escape congestion and jams on the Delhi-Jaipur highway. “I’m taking the highway from Subash Chowk. I hope I save on travel time and that the highway is safe and comfortable,” said a city resident, who plans to visit Vaishali Nagar in Jaipur on Thursday.