The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) has established a new record in freight train Average Speed. An Average Speed of 99.38 kmph was achieved in the New Khurja-New Bhaupur Section of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor by running Coal loadable Boxn Empty in 3 hrs and 20 minutes.
- DFCCIL has been set up as a special purpose vehicle to undertake planning, development, mobilization of financial resources, construction, maintenance and operation of Dedicated Freight Corridors.
- In the first phase, the organisation is constructing the Western DFC (1506 Route km) and Eastern DFC (1875 route km including PPP section of Sonnagar-Dankuni Section.
- The EDFC starting from Sahnewal near Ludhiana (Punjab) will pass through the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand to terminate at Dankuni in West Bengal.
- The Western Corridor connecting Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) in Mumbai will traverse through the states of UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra of WDFC & EDFC.
- WDFC’s 306 km Rewari-Madar section was dedicated to the nation on 07.01.2021.
- Trial run of 369 km of WDFC between New Palanpur to New Kishangarh has been done.
- EDFC’s 351 km New Bhaupur-New Khurja section and the Operation Control Centre at Prayagraj were dedicated to the nation by the Hon’ble PM on 29.12.2020.
- A total of approx. 2800 route Km of the whole WDFC and EDFC (excluding the Sonnagar-Dankuni PPP section) will be commissioned by June 2022.
- Till date in the commission section, a total of 4000 trains have been run.
- In Eastern DFC it has more than 3000 trains and in WDFC more than 850 trains.
- Total GTKM has crossed the 3 million ton mark.
- Some of the trains in the section are achieving an average speed of 99.38 kmph in EDFC and 89.50 kmph in WDFC.
- These speeds are comparable to any of the fastest mail express trains.
How DFCCIL is able to attain Avg speed of more than 99 KMPH:
- Double line electric (2 X 25 KV) track to undertake higher haulage at higher speeds
- Exclusive operation for freight trains.
- No Speed Restriction, Neither Permanent speed restriction Nor any Temporary speed restriction in the Newly commissioned section of EDFC.
- Curve not more than 2.5 degree helps in achieving the speed of 100 kmph.
- Canted turnout and speed on loop line of 50kmph.
- Gradient 1 in 200 helped the trains to have balancing speed at 100 kmph.
- Signalling is automatic with 2 km spacing.
Main objectives:
- Decongest the existing Indian Railway network.
- Increase the average speed of goods trains from existing 25 to 70 kmph.
- Run Heavy Haul trains (higher axle load of 25/32.5 Tonne) & overall load of 13,000 Tonne.
- Facilitate the running of longer (1.5km) and double stack container trains.
- Connect the existing ports and industrial areas for faster movement of goods.
- Energy efficient and environment friendly rail transport system as per global standards.
- Increase the rail share from existing 30% to 45%.
- Reduce the logistic cost of transportation
Innovations and State-of-the-art Technology:
- Heavy and long Haul train operation of 25 Axle ton with provision of 32.5 Ton axle load for the First time in India.
- Double stack containers in Western DFC.
- Double line electric (2 X 25 KV) track to undertake higher haulage at higher speeds.
- Automated New Track Construction (NTC) machine which can lay track at the speed of 1.5 km per day.
- Automated Wiring train for Overhead Equipment Work (OHE) capable of wiring upto 3 km per shift.
- Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) for safe and efficient operation.
- Elimination of road level crossing
- Developing Multi Modal Logistic Hubs and integration with Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor & Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial corridor.
Source: DFCCIL-Press Release
