In the initial phase, it aims to shift nearly half of the long-haul freight entering Delhi to the hub-and-spoke model.

Abhijeet Sinha, Project Director at NHEV told The Indian Express, “The long-term objective is for diesel trucks to stop at the city’s edge, with only zero-emission freight vehicles entering Delhi.”

Officials said the phased approach addresses a recurring problem logistics operators face during severe air pollution episodes. Under Stage IV of GRAP, entry of diesel medium and heavy goods vehicles is restricted, except for those carrying essential commodities or meeting specified exemptions. This often leaves loaded trucks stranded outside the city and disrupts supply chains.

The proposal comes amid growing concern over emissions from interstate freight traffic. A June study by IIT Delhi, TERI and the Air Pollution Action Group (A-PAG) found that nearly 17,000 heavy-duty trucks enter Delhi every day, making them one of the Capital’s biggest yet least-addressed sources of transport pollution.

While accounting for only a fraction of vehicles on the road, these trucks contribute about 23% of transport-sector Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 emissions, with their impact rising sharply at night when most are allowed to enter the city.

How freight interchange will work

Each hub is proposed to be spread over around six to eight acres, including a core operational area of about five acres and additional space for truck parking.

The first phase would involve land acquisition, construction of logistics infrastructure, and installation of charging stations for electric commercial vehicles, with operations expected to begin within the next 16-18 months.

According to project officials, land parcels are currently being identified and earmarked for the facilities.

Officials associated with the project said the challenge is to secure the periphery and ensure no polluting truck enters Delhi through arterial roads. To fix this, electronic enforcement systems are also being planned along these routes to ensure that trucks required to use the freight hubs do not bypass them and enter Delhi directly.

Unlike conventional trans-shipment facilities, the proposed model is centred on a trailer-exchange system.

This means a diesel tractor unit arriving at a logistics hub would detach its trailer, which would then be coupled to an electric tractor for onward movement into Delhi. Since trailers follow standard dimensions and coupling systems, they can be hauled by tractor units from different manufacturers, such as Ashok Leyland or Tata Motors, without opening the container, officials said.

In cases where the consignee requires cargo to be segregated or delivered in smaller loads, the container can be opened at the logistics hub. These would be segregated and sorted according to destination and loaded onto smaller electric commercial vehicles, such as five- or six-tonne trucks, for last-mile deliveries, officials said.

The project is currently in the planning stage, with officials expecting to submit the proposal to the government in October. This will be followed by a pilot in November to test both the operational and commercial aspects of the model, including trailer interchange, electronic enforcement and the pay-per-use pricing mechanism before wider implementation.

Project documents describe the facilities as integrated freight and energy hubs rather than standalone EV charging stations. Besides supporting trailer interchange and freight consolidation, the hubs are expected to provide charging infrastructure for electric commercial vehicles, warehousing and logistics support, digital fleet management and other ancillary services.

Site selection is underway along major freight corridors leading to the capital.

Earlier this month, officials from the NHEV Greenways project and the National Highways for EV Working Group, along with representatives of logistics company CJ Darcl Logistics Ltd., carried out a site assessment at Hapur on the Delhi-Lucknow highway to evaluate its suitability for a future multimodal logistics hub serving freight movement into the NCR.

Freight impact on Delhi’s pollution

As per the June study, 16,900 heavy-duty trucks enter Delhi each day, releasing an estimated 52 kg of PM 2.5, three tonnes of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 2.5 tonnes of carbon monoxide (CO) daily.

Older pre-BS VI trucks, despite accounting for just 38 per cent of truck entries, contribute 62 per cent of PM 2.5 emissions from interstate freight, besides 87 per cent of NOx and 95 per cent of CO emissions.

Their impact is far greater during the night, when nearly three-fourths of interstate trucks enter the city because of entry restrictions. Between 10 pm and 7 am, heavy-duty trucks account for nearly 61 per cent of transport-related PM 2.5 emissions, with pollution concentrations further aggravated by lower atmospheric mixing heights during these hours.

The report had recommended establishing Urban Consolidation Centres (UCCs) at the city’s periphery where freight from long-haul trucks can be transferred to cleaner vehicles such as electric or CNG trucks for last-mile distribution.

It had also recommended deploying automated Weigh-in-Motion payload sensors along with AI-enabled Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras at toll plazas to improve enforcement, identify overloaded vehicles and ensure compliance with freight regulations.

According to project officials, the proposed multimodal hubs are intended to complement such measures by creating an alternative freight ecosystem.

As per the study, restricting the entry of pre-BS VI trucks by 2027 could reduce PM 2.5 emissions from interstate freight vehicles by 51 per cent and a full shift to electric trucks can ultimately bring tailpipe PM 2.5 emissions down to zero by 2035.

How global cities have addressed the issue

Several global cities have implemented zero-emission zones, low-emission zones (LEZs), and bans on polluting trucks.

Norway’s national legislation grants municipalities the direct legal authority to establish zero-emission zones. This empowers cities like Oslo to outright restrict access to urban areas for fossil-fuel vehicles, effectively barring traditional diesel trucks from operating in these designated zones.

In the UK, the national government provided funding and legal authority to high-density urban areas to enforce emissions controls.Cities such as London, Birmingham, and Bristol have successfully established Clean Air and Low Emission Zones.

Rather than banning vehicles outright, these zones charge non-compliant diesel trucks a heavy daily fee (ranging from £50 to £100 per day) to enter, creating a strong economic deterrent to operating older trucks.

Tokyo implemented a strict, targeted ban on diesel trucks that failed to meet local particulate matter (PM) standards. Truck operators were forced to adapt by replacing their vehicles, switching to clean fuels, or retrofitting their existing trucks with subsidised emission control devices like Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs) or Diesel Oxidation Catalysts (DOCs).

This firm local ban was highly effective, driving roadside suspended particulate matter (SPM) down by more than 20%.

New York City legally prohibits diesel trucks from idling for more than 3 minutes, and this limit is strictly reduced to just 1 minute if the truck is near a school.