Indian Railways to ensure last mile connectivity in Dedicated Freight Corridors

Railways should gear up to ensure all last mile connectivity as it speeds up the problem progress of DFCs in the country.

This was said by Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister for Railways and Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution while reviewing the progress of upcoming DFCs.

• He asked the officials to continue to engage and coordinate with all the stakeholders in ensuring that remaining sections of land acquisitions are also completed at earliest.
• The minister also suggested the formation of dedicated management teams, led by a senior official for each project of Railways, for day to day effective monitoring and resolution of the project issues.
• It may be noted that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is going to inaugurate the 351 km long ‘New Bhaupur- New Khurja section’ of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) today.
• During the event, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate EDFC’s Operation Control Centre (OCC) at Prayagraj as well.
• Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India is constructing the Western DFC (1504 Route km) and Eastern DFC (1856 route km including Sonnagar-Dankuni PPP Section).
• The section will open new vistas of opportunity for the local industries such as:
  • Aluminium industry (Pukhrayan region of Kanpur Dehat district)
  • Dairy sector (Auraiya district)
  • Textile production/block printing (Etawah district)
  • Glassware industry (Firozabad district)
  • Pottery products (Khurja of Bulandshahr district)
  • Asafoetida or ‘hing’ production (Hathras district)
  • Locks and hardware (Aligarh district)
• The section will also decongest the existing Kanpur-Delhi main line and will enable Indian Railways to run faster trains.  
• A state-of-the-art Operation Control Centre (OCC) at Prayagraj will act as the command centre for the entire route length of the EDFC. 
• The OCC is one of the largest structures of its type globally, with modern interiors, ergonomic design and best-in-class acoustics. 
• The building is environment-friendly with a Green Building rating of GRIHA4 and is built as per norms of the ‘Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan’. 

About Dedicated Freight Corridors:

• The EDFC (1856 route km) starts from Sahnewal near Ludhiana (Punjab) and will pass through the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand to terminate at Dankuni in West Bengal. 
• It is being constructed by Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), that has been set up as a special purpose vehicle to build and operate Dedicated Freight Corridors.
• DFCCIL is also constructing the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (1504 route km) that connects Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai and will traverse through the states of UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. 

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Source: PIB-Press Release | Image Credit: DFCCIL