Why Dedicated Freight Corridor matters — for Railways, the country?

Source: The Indian Express

News: Prime Minister has inaugurated a 351-km section between Khurja and Bhaupur in Uttar Pradesh for commercial operations as a part of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor(EDFC).

Facts:

• Dedicated Freight Corridors(DFC): These are freight-only railway lines to move goods between industrial heartlands in the North and ports on the Eastern and Western coasts.
• The DFC consists of two arms.
  • Eastern DFC: It is a 1,839-km line that starts from Sahnewal (Ludhiana) in Punjab and ends at Dankuni in West Bengal.It is being majorly funded by the World Bank.
  • Western DFC: It is around 1,500-km line that starts from Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to JNPT in Mumbai, touching all major ports along the way.It is being majorly funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency.
• Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited(DFCCIL): It is a Public Sector Undertaking(PSU) corporation run by the Ministry of Railways to undertake planning, development, and mobilisation of financial resources and construction, maintenance and operation of the Dedicated Freight Corridors(DFC).
• Benefits of DFCs:
  • These freight corridors will help reduce the cost and allow faster transportation.
  • Around 70% of the freight trains currently running on the Indian Railway network are slated to shift to the freight corridors, leaving the paths open for more passenger trains.
  • Tracks on DFC are designed to carry heavier loads than most of Indian Railways.DFC will get track access charge from the parent Indian Railways and will also generate its own freight business.
  • The DFCs will allow much shorter transit times from freight source to destination which means it will reduce the time by up to 50% in some cases.