Bharat Drive 2024 In The Mahindra Scorpio N: Experiencing the Purvanchal Expressway

ZigWheels was proud to partner with AJAI (Automotive Journalists Association of India) in the first #BharatDrive. This is the first step this newly formed association is taking towards showcasing the issues, solutions and gains we are making as a country towards future mobility. We do this drive in the Mahindra Scorpio N and here’s our experience of the same. 

AJAI

But first a word on who AJAI is. The Automotive Journalists Association of India, or AJAI, is a newly formed group that brings together years of experience in the field of automotive journalism on to a national platform. AJAI aims to collectively and holistically address the pressing issues in the mobility space as well as nurture and encourage young automotive journalists as well as supporting veterans in the field.

While the name AJAI is new, you will have heard of their work before as the same group was and continues to be custodians of the Indian Car Of the Year (ICOTY) and Indian Motorcycle of The Year (IMOTY) awards which honors excellence and innovation in the Indian automotive industry.  

The #BharatDrive

The first initiative of AJAI is the #BharatDrive which sees multiple journalists from different publications exploring and experiencing various completed road expansion projects across the country, be it the expressways like the Purvanchal Expressway in the plains or the more ambitious tunnel projects up in the hills. All initiatives that aim to both bring together the country as well as boost trade, travel and the economy.  

The Purvanchal Expressway 

What we have come to Lucknow to experience is the Purvanchal Expressway. A 340 kilometre stretch of pristine tarmac that connects the State’s capital to its south eastern regions and further onto Bihar. This aims to help move people and goods across the state of Uttar Pradesh and further on to the nation's capital, Delhi. 

The Purvanchal Expressway was conceived in 2015 and was inaugurated by Our prime minister in November 2021. It's just over 340 km long, and costs 22,494 crore. It is 6 lanes wide, with a further 15 meters on either side for future expansion. It's designed for speeds up to 120kmph, though the speed limit is 100kmph.

The Purvanchal Expressway is one of the four expressways that include the Bundelkhand Expressway, the Gorakhpur Link Expressway, the Ganga Expressway and the Purvanchal Expressway that promise to transform Uttar Pradesh, also making it the state with the largest expressway network in India. 

And like any expressway it boosts employment, connectivity, tourism and Industries, like agriculture, textiles and other production businesses from the eastern regions of Uttar Pradesh.

It’s smooth tarmac for 340 kilometers that’s divided into 8 packages; each package has its own set of a rest stop and toilet block, fuel station, with alternate fuel stops having CNG stations. There are EV charging stations at the fuel stops as well. However I would have liked to see the rest stops, toilet blocks and fuel stations combined together. As it stands at the moment if you need to stop for fuel and take a bathroom break or have a bite to eat, you would have to make two separate stops as these are in different locations. 

What’s great is that everything is properly marked with signboards, proper lane markings and even the important intersections (overpasses or underpasses) or the major exit points are properly lit up by solar lighting. There are also regular speed cameras along the way and we did notice that there was fairly good road sense displayed by our fellow road goers on the day. 

Drive Partners

Patterning AJAI on this drive is Mahindra, who have provided a fleet of Scorpio-Ns to cover the various legs of the journey. The Scorpio-N we are driving on this trip is the diesel automatic variant and probably one of the best suited for making a journey like this. It was smooth and effortless on the highway and the automatic was a breeze to drive in the crowded bylanes on the way out of Lucknow as well. And when you have 340 kilometers of open highway then cruise control is your best friend to keep you sitting just under that 100kmph speed limit the whole way!

We have to mention the JK Ranger H/T tyres that the Scorpio-N was wearing as well. These tyres were grippy, fast rolling and had less road noise too, and this ensured we had a really comfortable drive.