New Delhi:Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 351 km New Bhaupur-New Khurja section of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor on Tuesday, which is the country's one of the largest railway infrastructure project.
It is expected that the project will transform the Indian Railways network by revolutionizing the freight transportation system.
The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) is constructing the Western DFC, which is of 1504 route km, and Eastern DFC, which is of 1856 route km. The Eastern DFC will start from Sahnewal in Punjab and will pass through the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand while terminating at Dankuni in West Bengal.
While the Western DFC will connect Dadri, Uttar Pardesh, to Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mumbai, traversing through Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.
On Saturday, the Chairman Railway Board Vinod Kumar Yadav informed media that 351 km Bhaupur-Khurja section of Eastern DFC and 306 km Rewari-Madar section of Western DFC has already been completed.
In a statement of DFCCIL, it had been stated that 40 percent of DFC will be commissioned by March 2021 and the remaining DFC will be commissioned by June 2022.
Benefits of 351 km long New Bhaupur- New Khurja section of Eastern DFC
This section is situated in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, covering many of the important industrial areas including Aligarh Khurja Firozabad and Agra. For the augmentation of speed and safety, 68 level Crossings have been eliminated in this stretch. 19 major bridges, 414 minor bridges, 7 rail flyovers have also been constructed in this section.
The Kanpur (Bhaupur)- Khurja section is presently considered among the most congested sections of Indian Railways as the line capacity utilization is more than 150 percent. With the release of freight trains to the DFC route, the existing mainline of the Kanpur-Delhi route will be decongested and Indian Railways will be able to run faster and punctual trains.
The average speed of Goods train will also be increased to 60-70 kph, which remains currently at 25-30 kmph.
It will also facilitate the running of longer and double-stack container trains, carrying an overall load of 13,000 tonnes.
It is been expected that the Eastern DFC will open new vistas of opportunity and wider reach, specifically for the aluminum and textile industry.
The project is aimed at energy efficiency and environment-friendly transportation. While on one side, sound barriers have been installed to minimize the effect of sound pollution, it is also being expected that the DFC implementation will lead to a saving of 1.5 crore ton CO2, each year, in freight transportation.
While inaugurating the 351 long stretches of Eastern DFC, PM Modi also said, "These freight corridors will play a major role in making India self-reliant. Be it traders, farmers, or consumers, everyone will be benefitted."
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