Delhi to Amritsar in 4 hours, Katra in 6? PM Modi inaugurates key stretch of Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway
In a recent update, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a crucial section of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway on Friday. The newly opened stretch is expected to reduce travel times between Delhi, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir significantly. Once the entire corridor becomes operational, weekend road trips, pilgrimages and business travel can become faster than ever. The inauguration marks a significant milestone for one of India’s biggest greenfield expressway projects. While only parts of the corridor are now open, the project is already being viewed as a game changer for tourism, logistics and regional connectivity.What has been inaugurated?Prime Minister Modi dedicated the first 157.92-km stretch (Packages 1 to 5) of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Greenfield Expressway during his visit to Jind, Haryana. The newly operational section has been constructed at an estimated cost of around ₹9,680 crore.The Prime Minister also inaugurated the 33.81-km Ambala-Kala Amb Highway and the 40.60-km Jind-Gohana Greenfield Highway, besides laying the foundation stone for another major highway project connecting Chandigarh’s IT City with Kurali in Punjab. These infrastructure projects are aimed at improving connectivity across Haryana and Punjab while easing traffic congestion on existing highways.Delhi to Amritsar in about four hours?
One of the prime attractions of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway is the dramatic reduction in travel time.As per project details shared by the government and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), once the expressway is completed:Delhi to Amritsar travel time is expected to reduce from around 8 hours to nearly 4 hours.Delhi to Katra is expected to come down from nearly 14 hours to about 6 hours.A mega corridor across four statesThe Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway is a 667-km access-controlled Greenfield Expressway being developed at an estimated cost of around ₹38,905 crore. Designed as a four-lane highway expandable to eight lanes in the future, it will pass through Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir.The project has been divided into multiple construction packages to speed up execution. Once fully operational, it will provide a modern alternative to the busy NH-44 corridor, which currently handles a large volume of passenger and freight traffic.Tourism boost
Golden Temple
For travellers, the expressway could be one of the biggest infrastructure upgrades in North India in recent years.Pilgrims heading to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi in Katra will be able to reach much faster by road. The corridor will also improve access to several tourism destinations across Haryana and Punjab while making road trips from Delhi more convenient.The expressway is expected to connect numerous industrial centres, agricultural markets, logistics parks and important religious destinations through nearly 35 major interchanges, creating a seamless transport network across the region.For travellers planning weekend escapes, shorter driving times could make destinations like Amritsar more accessible, while the improved road infrastructure is expected to encourage self-drive tourism across northern India.As more stretches are completed, the expressway is expected to redefine road travel across North India, making pilgrimages, family holidays and interstate road trips considerably faster, safer and more comfortable.Sources: Press Information Bureau (PIB), National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), and NDTV.
