Delhi-Saharanpur-Dehradun Expressway opens for trial run

New Delhi: The Delhi-Saharanpur-Dehradun Expressway opened for a trial run on Monday. The expressway is expected to reduce the Delhi-Dehradun travel time from 6-6.5 hours to just 2-2.5 hours, after it becomes operational. A motorcyclist, Lokesh, reacting to the trial run, expressed hope that the government would inaugurate the expressway soon, saying it would help commuters avoid traffic congestion. “Today it has been opened for a trial run. This expressway will help us because it will save us from traffic jams. It will save time. We hope the government will open it soon and hand it over to the public,” Lokesh . Meanwhile, the 32 km-long sections of this Delhi-Dehradun Expressway is expected to be inaugurated in the last week of December or the first week of January. This expressway is 210 km long and will connect the three states of Uttarakhand-Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.Earlier, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 11th Pre-Budget Consultation with experts from the infrastructure and energy sectors in New Delhi, marking another step in the preparation of the Union Budget 2026-27. According to the Ministry of Finance on X, the meeting was attended by Secretaries from the Ministries of Power, Ports, Shipping and Waterways, and Road Transport and Highways, along with the Chairman of the Railway Board and the Chief Economic Adviser. The Ministry in a statement on X said, “Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. @nsitharaman chairs the 11th Pre-Budget Consultation with the experts from the #Infrastructure, and #Energy Sectors in connection with the forthcoming Union Budget 2026-27, in New Delhi, today. The meeting was also attended by Secretaries of @MinOfPower; @shipmin_India; @MORTHIndia; Chairman of Railway Board; and the Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India.”