From 33 to 12 hours, 14 to 6: Vande Bharat, roads cutting travel time drastically

India’s infrastructure expansion has been continuing for several years now, with the fruits of the labour now visible in terms of less travel time between places. Across bridges, tunnels, expressways and railways, projects are replacing long detours, difficult terrain and slower routes with more direct connections.The latest government factsheet brings together examples of how these investments are changing journey times across the country.Bridges: Crossing barriers, cutting hoursBridges have made some of the biggest differences where rivers and difficult crossings once added hours to a journey. The Bhupen Hazarika Setu, or Dhola-Sadiya Bridge, reduced travel time between Rupai in Assam and Meka/Roing in Arunachal Pradesh from six hours to one hour. The Bogibeel Bridge brought the journey between Dhemaji and Dibrugarh down from almost an entire day to around one to two hours.The gains are equally striking elsewhere.