Dedicated Freight Corridor to be operational by 2020

20 February 2017

Operations of goods trains on Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) will start by December 2020, claimed Adesh Sharma, Managing Director of Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL).

Expected to be a game-changer in the freight transportation sector after it becomes fully operational by the next three years, the Rs 81,459-crore DFC project will also be free from all level crossings, a major safety hazard in rail network.

Contracts worth Rs 18,000 crore were awarded during 2016 for the DFC project, Sharma said, adding that while 100% contracts in the 1504-km-long Western DFC have been awarded, for the 1840-km-long Eastern DFC, it is 87%.

Ensuring unhindered movement of freight trains, Sharma said, “A total of 1,003 level crossings are planned to be eliminated which will help seamless movement of both rail and road traffic.” There will be construction of 689 Rail Under Bridges (RUBs) and 314 Rail Over Bridges (ROBs) on cost-sharing basis with states on the DFC track to make the entire track free from level crossings.

Focusing on reduction of the operational cost by 40%, steps are being taken to increase efficiency and doing away with guard service in freight trains with the help of latest technology, he said. He also said DFCC is also using new track construction machine to lay 1.5-km-long track a day.

Once fully operational, DFC will be capable of carrying train load of 13,000 tonne with average speed of 75 km per hour against the current speed of 25 km per hour.

“It is taking about 72 hours to transport goods to Mumbai from here now and our aim is to deliver it within 24 hours on DFC track,” Sharma said, adding “the entire track will be equipped with the most modern accident prevention system”.

Source – Tribune India