DFC achieves milestone of running 1 lakh trains

Jaya Varma Sinha, Member, Operations & Business Development, Railway Board flagged off train number one lakh running on the dedicated freight corridor (DFC) alignment today.

"She also footplated in the train along with Nanduri Srinivas, Director, Operations and Business Development, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCC), " says an official release.

The first train on DFC was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 29, 2020, the release added. "Till now 55,332 trains have moved on the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) and 44,658 trains on the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC)."

As on today, 2,089 route KM i.e., 73.5 percent of the DFC has been commissioned. "DFC alignment, except JNPT connectivity, is expected to be commissioned by December 2023."

With the commissioning of the New Dadri–New Rewari section, freight transportation can be seamlessly done from the hinterlands of Uttar Pradesh to the western ports, the release added. "DFC is a vital cog in the National Logistics Policy which aims to reduce the cost of logistics from 15 percent (approx.) of the country’s GDP to eight percent by 2030."

The freight infrastructure capacity augmentation by DFC is crucial in achieving the Indian Railways target of 3,000 million tonnes freight loading by 2030, the release added.