Surat: The Vadodara–Surat journey has received a major boost with the recent opening of the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway section, offering fast and smooth travel for four-wheelers through this access-controlled expressway. As more and more commuters begin using the expressway, discussions have emerged on whether the Vadodara-to-Surat journey can be completed in just one hour. A Facebook user has claimed that it is indeed possible.

One Swejal Vyas shared a video of his journey with a caption stating that he completed the Vadodara–Surat trip in just 54 minutes via the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway. According to the video, he started from the Vadodara toll plaza at 3:04 pm and reached the Surat toll plaza at 3:57 pm.

However, there is a catch in this claim, as key details such as the exact starting point, ending point, and the speed at which the vehicle was driven are missing. To verify whether the journey could realistically be completed in around one hour and to determine the actual start and end points, we took the help of Google Maps.

As per Google Maps, the city centres of Vadodara and Surat are approximately 150 km apart. However, since only the expressway travel time is being assessed, the starting point from Vadodara is considered as Samiyala Toll Plaza, which is about 100 km from the end point, Kim Interchange in Surat.

According to the maps, this 100-km stretch of the expressway can be completed in around 1 hour and 7 minutes. Now this claim of Google Maps also fits, as the maximum speed limit of the expressway is 120 km/h, so the 100 km travel is very much doable in one hour.

Furthermore, there is another interchange that connects vehicles directly to Surat city, the Ena Interchange. If commuters do not take a turn at Kim Interchange and then travel up to Ena to enter Surat city, the journey distance increases by about 43 kilometres, adding nearly 45 minutes to the travel time.

Therefore, in this case, if one travels at the maximum speed of 120 km/h from Vadodara to Surat, then the 143 km journey is possible in around one and a half hours.

How many packages fall in the Vadodara–Surat journey via the expressway?

The 1,386-km-long, eight-lane Delhi–Mumbai Expressway is divided into two major sections, Delhi–Vadodara and Vadodara–Mumbai.

In the Vadodara–Mumbai segment, Packages 1 to 3 connecting Vadodara to Bharuch were opened to traffic in February 2024. Following this, Package 4 (Manubar to Ankleshwar) was opened. Later, Package 6 (Kim Interchange to Ena Interchange) was made operational, and the latest stretch to open for traffic is Package 5 (Ankleshwar to Kim Interchange).

These six packages together provide direct expressway connectivity between Vadodara and Surat. After this, Package 7 has also been opened, extending the expressway’s connectivity further towards Navsari. DeshGujarat