[joslicx]

Originally Posted by scuderiamania

Doesn't Rs. 320 for about 160kms sound a bit too much to you people. A ride from Kolkata to Durgapur, which is roughly 200km, hardly costs us about a R. 130. Are all toll taxes so high in western India?

Recently I paid 30 rupees one way for a 16KM drive on the NICE road to go to Bannerghatta national park, so this price seems to be in line. You have to consider that there will be substantial fuel savings (I think of the order of 4-5L) on a one way drive to Agra compared to the drive on the NH-2. Also less chance of accidents, less chances of brushes with trucks or tractors or stray animals on the road, lesser wear/tear of the vehicle and added benefit of savings in time.
I think it is totally worth it.

Also the high toll would mean very less two wheelers or autos, jugaads etc.

[ninjatalli]

Ridiculous rates!

Originally Posted by asdon

You must be kidding!!! how can you compare Durgapur Expressway with Yamuna Expressway? Durgapur expressway has only name as expressway not the quality and no where is a dedicated access controlled expressway. Have you seen the toll plaza near Dankuni? its lower than even NH standard. You have to drive on a dedicated expressway to get the feel before comparing toll rates. Try NE1 for example(Ahmedabad - Varoda).

And yet in line with what @scuderiamania is stating, this is a huge amount for 160 odd kms. The Ahmedabad - Vadodara highway rate is far far lesser, so is the Bombay - Pune expressway and many more across the country. And they are a dedicated expressway.

Originally Posted by joslicx

Recently I paid 30 rupees one way for a 16KM drive on the NICE road to go to Bannerghatta national park, so this price seems to be in line. You have to consider that there will be substantial fuel savings (I think of the order of 4-5L) on a one way drive to Agra compared to the drive on the NH-2. Also less chance of accidents, less chances of brushes with trucks or tractors or stray animals on the road, lesser wear/tear of the vehicle and added benefit of savings in time.
I think it is totally worth it.

Also the high toll would mean very less two wheelers or autos, jugaads etc.

On the contrary, I find the toll amount on the NICE road ridiculous, as is the case with the Yamuna expressway. I paid 140 Rs for some 40 odd kms! All ye guys who think this is a normal amount, think if the rest/all the highways start charging such figures. Travel by road would become extremely costly.

And there is no guarantee that the expressway would always remain a time-saving route - try doing the Bombay - Pune highway during the night, and you'll understand.

And one thing we are forgetting - like the increased tolls for 4 wheelers, so would be the rates for trucks, which is not really going to help anyone.

[asdon]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

On the contrary, I find the toll amount on the NICE road ridiculous, as is the case with the Yamuna expressway. I paid 140 Rs for some 40 odd kms! All ye guys who think this is a normal amount, think if the rest/all the highways start charging such figures.

I agree with you on NICE toll rates, for 42 KM its Rs 140/- but then NICE has been a welcome time saver for us in Bangalore, try reaching Tumkur Road via any other route from Electronic City and you will know why people are using NICE despite its high rates. In that sense I find Bangalore - Nelemangla Flyover rates are justified, I am not sure of exact KMs but its more than Hosur road elevated flyover, 6 lane yet costs only Rs 25/- both way, while for 9.5 KM Hosur road charges Rs 60/- for both way.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by asdon

I agree with you on NICE toll rates, for 42 KM its Rs 140/- but then NICE has been a welcome time saver for us in Bangalore, try reaching Tumkur Road via any other route from Electronic City and you will know why people are using NICE despite its high rates. In that sense I find Bangalore - Nelemangla Flyover rates are justified, I am not sure of exact KMs but its more than Hosur road elevated flyover, 6 lane yet costs only Rs 25/- both way, while for 9.5 KM Hosur road charges Rs 60/- for both way.

See the point is of course these highways/expressways are going to be a time-saver/safer/better option, that was the reason they were constructed. However in the end these are supposed to be a public-private partnership, not just a profit making entity! Charges should be in line with what is acceptable, not what one can fleece from the end user. Even if the NICE toll or the Yamuna toll doubles up, it is not going to deter the end user - there will always be people like us ready to weigh our options and eventually opt for it. The rates should be reasonable - I don't believe any of us is ready to shell out extra so that Jaypee group can rake in more profits.

P.s. This is turning out to be an OT discussion, so this would be my last post on this matter.

[asdon]

Any BHPIAN on the expressway today? any snaps available?

[tanwaramit]

Read sidpatankar tweet, he said, its going to be free till 15th August.

So people in Delhi, time to drive to Agra.

[dhondusaxena]

Official Video on Yamuna Expressway

Yamuna Expressway - The expressway to the future - YouTube

[rishi_kapoor]

Guys, I am officially the first BHPian to go to Agra using this expressway. More pics when I am back.

[mempheS.D]

Originally Posted by dhondusaxena

Official Video on Yamuna Expressway

Wow! I don't mean to play spoil sport but a road like this needs some sort of speed check. Else, it's a recipe for disaster. Don't you think?

, was my reaction on seeing this road. Hope they maintain the quality of the road. A similar toll road, called NICE here in Bangalore, was truly "nice" only for the first year or two at max. No maintenance ever since, and the road now feels like a series of levelled humps except a few patches here and there.

[k2max6]

^^^ They have special cameras at every 5 kms. These cameras would take the photos of the number plates of over speeding vehicles and feed the number in the database,the vehicle would be challaned at the toll plaza.

[rishi_kapoor]

Just came back from Agra after a terrific Yamuna Expressway drive. Visited Taj Mahal (it was closed), stopped at my old school and had breakfast at Bhagat after 18 years!

Feeling Nostalgic. Now off to my lunch meeting at Oberoi. I never even imagined this would be possible in less than six hours, amazing!!

Detailed report to follow as soon as I get off from work

[tanwaramit]

Those who have traveled via this expressway, can they please let me know if there is an exit route at Jewar ? I know it was under works, but has it been opened ?

Any idea on the toll till Jewar ? Till Aligarh from Gr Noida it is 100 bucks, however considering Jewar is 38 kms any idea on that?

Please share the info, so that I can plan my route accordingly.

[Zenster99]

Originally Posted by rishi_kapoor

J Now off to my lunch meeting at Oberoi. I never even imagined this would be possible in less than six hours, amazing!!

Detailed report to follow as soon as I get off from work

Congratulations on being the first BHP'ian to drive on that road - I was going to try and do so as well, but I left the country before the road was opened. Did try and think of doing an unofficial spin on the road before it was officially opened, but didn't feel like shelling out the 300 or so bucks that the guys at the barrier would have likely wanted .

Anyway, from all the reports coming in, it seems there's FINALLY a REAL EXPRESSWAY in North India (I'm not counting DND etc as they're for very short distances), without any diversions, animals (well, at least not as many as we see on the highways), unreasonable speed limits etc. And from the pictures you've posted, the road seems to be in superb condition as well - though one has to wait and see how it holds up over a period of years.

The toll charges I read about in the newspaper seem somewhat high, but then again, so are petrol prices - and I'd rather pay the high tolls than spend six to seven hours navigating through annoyingly slow traffic (and I'm talking one way here - yes - it took us that long on the return leg from Agra once!), while burning up petrol. And for those on CNG (like me), yes, CNG prices are far lower than petrol - but they aren't THAT low any longer, so any CNG saved is a good bit of money saved as well. The prices in Agra were around Rs 40/kg in 2010 - I'm pretty sure they've touched the Rs 50 mark by now, given even Delhi's at Rs 38.35 or so.

All in all, sounds like a great deal - showpiece project for the Mayawati government to be sure, but I'm glad it's finally open!! Look forward to your detailed report as well.

Cheers
Rahul

Originally Posted by mempheS.D

Wow! I don't mean to play spoil sport but a road like this needs some sort of speed check. Else, it's a recipe for disaster. Don't you think?

Nah - I'd rather they keep the speed limit at a minimum of 100km/hr for cars. All over the world expressways are meant to be just that - EXPRESS-ways, and imposing a lower speed limit negates the entire purpose of the road.

I know that Indian conditions make it extremely hard to drive safely at those speeds - but I'd rather those conditions change (and I hope this expressway stays free of the usual irritants on the road in India) and that folks in India can say they're driving on a world class road - traffic conditions included.

Wishful thinking, eh?

[0-100]

Yesterday, 4pm was the official time for the innaugration of speedway and me along with my friend were at Taj Speedway (Yamuna Expressway) at 5PM. I had heard about Heaven On Earth but seen it for the first time. Since I had been waiting for this route to open for a long time, could not even wait for a single day to experience it.

From Noida till Agra it's 185 kms but the actual speedway starts from Greater Noida to Agra which is 165 kms (since Noida - GN has been operational from quite some time). There are 3 toll plaza on the route and 1 side toll from delhi to agra is Rs.320 and if you go for the to and fro it will cost you Rs.510. As soon as I encountered the first toll plaza came a good news that toll will be applicable only from 16th of August 2012.

Since the speedway had been inaugurated just an hour before so obviously not many people knew about it and that's why it was more of AUTOBAHN of India rather than a speedway, and we drove like one too. I hope there are no cops in this forum because what I did was regally wrong but we drove the car (Nissan Micra Diesel) at a constant speed of 160km/hr from Agra till Greater Noida and it took us about 1 hr 10 min to cover this distance. I never thought that I could drive a car that fast and constantly, in India. Usually after driving your left leg is aching but in this case it was my right leg that was aching .

This type of driving won't be possible after this because now there will be more cars on this route since its been on almost every news channel. It was the best drive I ever had till now. It was like driving in Rann of Kutchh with no tension of traffic or any cuts in between. I enjoyed the drive so much that didn't even bother to take a single picture on the way. Planning to go again very soon but this time in a suttle mode .

[Zenster99]

Originally Posted by 0-100

Since the speedway had been inaugurated just an hour before so obviously not many people knew about it and that's why it was more of AUTOBAHN of India rather than a speedway, and we drove like one too. I hope there are no cops in this forum because what I did was regally wrong but we drove the car (Nissan Micra Diesel) at a constant speed of 160km/hr from Agra till Greater Noida and it took us about 1 hr 10 min to cover this distance. I never thought that I could drive a car that fast and constantly, in India. Usually after driving your left leg is aching but in this case it was my right leg that was aching .

What you did might be technically illegal, but the road conditions on the Expressway, at least as of now are really what ALL our highways/expressways should aspire to! 160km/hr might sound high by Indian standards, but it's actually just 100 miles/hr - a bit above the 90miles/hr or so average speed one can very easily maintain on most US highways (I think the official limit on most US highways is 80 miles/hr) - and it's high time the highways in India are upgraded to that level as well.