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Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor

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Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor
A WAG-12 locomotive on the Eastern DFC
Overview
StatusFully operational
OwnerDFCCIL
LocalePunjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal
Termini
Service
TypeFreight rail
SystemDFCCIL
Operator(s)Indian Railways
History
Planned openingJune 2023; 17 months ago (June 2023)[1]
CompletedFebruary 2024 (February 2024)
Technical
Line length1,839 km (1,143 mi)
Track gauge5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) Indian broad gauge
Electrification25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead catenary
Route map

Legend
 Ludhiana
Dhandharikalan
Sirhind
Rajpura
Punjab
Haryana
border
 Ambala
Yamunanagar
Kalanaur
Haryana
Uttar Pradesh
border
 Saharanpur
Muzaffarnagar
Meerut
Hapur
Bulandshahr
Khurja
Haryana│
Uttar
Pradesh
border
 Dadri
to Western DFC
 Aligarh
Hathras
Barhan
Tundla
Etawah
Bhaupur
for Kanpur
Manauri
for Allahabad
Chheoki/Karchhana
for Allahabad
Jeonathpur
for Varanasi
Mughalsarai
Ganjkhwaja
Uttar Pradesh
Bihar
border
 Dehri-on-Sone
Son Nagar
Bihar
Jharkhand
border
 Gomoh
Jharkhand
West Bengal
border
 Andal
Dankuni

Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor or Eastern DFC is a broad gauge freight corridor in India. The railway line runs between Ludhiana in Punjab and Dankuni (near Kolkata) in West Bengal via Meerut and Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.[2] This railway line is one of the multiple freight corridors being constructed by the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL), a public-sector unit (PSU) under the Ministry of Railways.

Logistic Hub and Network

A large Logisitic Hub is proposed in Meerut, which is well connected to EDFC and several expressways.

The Eastern DFC will mostly have double tracks and will be electrified, but the section from Ludhiana to Khurja (365 km) will be single line electrified due to lack of space. This freight corridor will cover a total distance of 1,839 km. This corridor is having a 46 km branch line which is joining Khurja (Bulandshahr district) on the Eastern DFC with Dadri (Gautam Buddha Nagar district) on the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (Western DFC).

As of August 2023, 1150 km or 86% of the Eastern DFC has been completed and 99% required land for these have been acquired.[3] First two DFCs, Western DFC, from Dadri, Uttar Pradesh to JNPT (Navi Mumbai) and Eastern DFC from Punjab to West Bengal, which will decongest the railway network by moving 70% of India's goods trains to these two corridors.

Route

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The freight corridor will cover first 447 km of Ludhiana - Dhari - Khurja section with single electrified track. After this the remaining line will be double track electrified up to Dankuni in West Bengal. This will pass through the important districts of Sahnewal, Doraha, Ludhiana, Sirhind, Rajpura, Ambala, Yamunanagar, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut (Logistic Hub), Hapur, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Hathras, Barhan, Tundla, Firozabad, Etawah, Kanpur, Prayagraj and Chandauli. To reduce load over the main line, this line will have many junctions. The proposed junctions on this line are Dhandharikalan, Sirhind, Rajpura, Khalanaur, Khurja, Daudkhan, Tundla, Bhaupur, Prempur, Manauri, Karchhana, Jeonathpur, Mughalsarai Junction railway station, Ganjkhwaja, Sasaram, Dehri On Sone, Son Nagar, Gomoh, Andal, Bardhaman and Dankuni (The eastern terminal point).

Eastern DFC
State Distance Covered
Punjab 88
Haryana 72
Uttar Pradesh 1076
Bihar 236
Jharkhand 199
West Bengal 202
Total 1873

Logistic hub

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A large logistic hub is also proposed in Meerut, since the city is suitable major hub due to its well connectivity and proximity with expressways like Delhi Meerut Expressway, Ganga Expressway, Delhi Mumbai Expressway, Yamuna Expressway and upcoming Meerut Haridwar Expressway. [4]

The land around the departure points of Meerut, from where the expressway is to start, will be developed for industries.

Ashok Agarwal, national president, Indian Industries Association (IIA), said "We have also received queries related to the allotment of land along the Ganga Expressway from investors. Most of the queries are for land in Meerut, Budaun and its adjoining areas".

Government proposed following investment zones -

  • Meerut along Delhi Meerut Expressway
  • Meerut Muzaffarnagar Investment region
  • Dadri Noida Ghaziabad Investment Region

Construction

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This corridor is divided into multiple sections for contracting purposes.[5][6]

Eastern DFC
Section Distance in km Route Status Project contractor Completion Date
Ludhiana - Khurja 365 Ludhiana-Ambala-Yamunanagar-Saharanpur-Muzaffarnagar-Meerut-Hapur-Bulandshahr-Khurja Operational GMR Group 2023 August
Dadri - Khurja (branch line) 46 Dadri-Khurja Operational GMR Group 2022 October
Khurja - Bhaupur 351 Khurja-Aligarh-Hathras-Tundla-Etawah-Bhaupur Operational [7] Tata Projects India- Aldesa Group[8][9] 2020 December
Bhaupur - Manauri - New Ganjkhwaja 279 Bhaupur-Prempur-Manauri (near Prayagraj)-Chheoki East/ Karchhana west (near Prayagraj) - New Ganjkhwaja Operational GMR Group[10] 2023 June
New Ganjkhwaja - New Chiraila Pauthu 123 New Ganjkhwaja - Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay Nagar - New Chiraila Pauthu Operational GMR Group[10] 2021 July
New Chiraila Pauthu - Sonnagar 137 New Chiraila Pauthu - Dehri On Sone-Sonnagar Operational C&C Construction Gurgaon and BSCPL 2021 December
Sonnagar - Dankuni 538 Sonnagar-Gomoh-Dankuni Under construction PPP Model
Total 1839

Operations control center (OCC)

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Built by Alstom at Prayagraj, OCC will house command and control center to monitor all trains and power supply systems on Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor.[11] It will be staffed by 150 people and the facility is spread across 4.2 acres.[12][13]

Bhadan and Khurja section of Eastern DFC in 2018.

Latest Map from DFCCIL: https://dfccil.com/images/uploads/img/MapDFC_NIZC.png

Status updates

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  • Apr 2005: The project is announced by the then Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh.
  • Oct 2006: The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) is formed by the Ministry of Railways on 30 October.
  • Feb 2008: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approves the Western DFC and the Eastern DFC.
  • Sep 2009: The Union Cabinet approved a JICA loan.
  • 2018-19: DFC is revived by the Union government after a decade of inactivity, with a target of going live by March 2023. However, the COVID crisis stalls the project's progress, and the timelines are shifted by a year. A major part of the project becomes operational by 2023. [citation needed]
  • Jun 2023: 77% of the DFC is completed and the project is set to be completed by the end of 2023. [14]
  • Oct 2023: The last leg of the Eastern DFC underwent a successful trial run. With this, the line is completed to Son Nagar.[15]
  • Feb 2024: Construction has been completed.[16]
  • Apr 2024: Fully operational[17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Completion targets on India's DFCs likely to be extended". International Railway Journal. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  2. ^ "DFCCIL". dfccil.com. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  3. ^ Gupta, Moushumi Das (19 September 2023). "Railways' massive Dedicated Freight Corridor nears completion 2 decades later — why it's a big deal". ThePrint. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  4. ^ "मुजफ्फरनगर, मेरठ में भी बनेगा फ्रेट कारिडोर का लॉजिस्टिक हब: संजीव बालियान". Hindustan (in Hindi). Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  5. ^ Rlys’ reluctance to cede control delays $1-billion World Bank loan | Business Line. Thehindubusinessline.com (3 April 2013). Retrieved on 5 May 2014.
  6. ^ Project Status | DFCCIL. https://dfccil.com/ (3 April 2022). Retrieved on 19 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Bhaupur and Khurja section of DFC to be ready by November: DFCCIL". The Economic Times. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  8. ^ Kanwar, Disha (24 January 2013). "DFCC awards Rs 3,300 cr Khurja-Bhaupur contract to Tata Aldesa JV". Business Standard India. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  9. ^ "Work on Eastern dedicated freight corridor project begins". The Hindu. 9 March 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  10. ^ a b Thakur, Raghav (13 June 2016). "More Indian freight corridor contracts awarded". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  11. ^ "PM Modi inaugurates EDFC's Operation Control Centre at Prayagraj". RailPost.in. 29 December 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  12. ^ "PM to inaugurate the New Bhaupur- New Khurja section and the Operation Control Centre of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor on 29 December". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  13. ^ Jacob, Shine (7 September 2020). "Prayagraj to house the nerve centre of automated goods train running system". Business Standard India. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Eastern Freight corridor set to commence by year-end". www.constructionworld.in. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  15. ^ "Eastern-DFC : Electric Loco trial successfully conducted on 94-Km-long last leg of freight corridor - India Shipping News". 4 October 2023.
  16. ^ "Indian Railways advances freight transportation with completion of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor and ongoing progress on Western Corridor". Financialexpress. 12 February 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  17. ^ Law, Abhishek (4 April 2024). "Dedicated freight corridor: Over 90% operational, 138 km to be added by April-end". BusinessLine. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
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