India@100 | Transport: Wheels of big change

From high-speed rail and electric vehicles to intelligent highways, here are three areas India needs to focus on

Vande Bharat trains being assembled at the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai; (Photo: Bandeep Singh)

Momentous change touches transport networks—arteries of a country’s socio-economic life—early. With the world moving towards cleaner energy, electric vehicles present a green alternative. Similarly, Intelligent Transport Systems, laden with digital sensors, will alter the experience of safe travel through real-time data. India will also soon join a select club of countries with high-speed trains. On the road to 2047, some of us would take an EV on a smart highway. Others will board the fastest train in Hindustan. But through all this, balance must be struck between technology and its affordability.

High-speed rail: Travel at bullet speed

India’s high-speed rail network project will help it cross the next frontier in transport and supercharge the economy