The Western Dedicated Freight Corridor or Western DFC is a 1,506 km long, under-construction

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

freight corridor in

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. It will connect Dadri in

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

(near

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...

) with Jawaharlal Nehru Port in

Navi Mumbai Navi Mumbai (), is a planned community, planned city situated on the west coast of the Indian subcontinent, located in the Konkan division of Maharashtra state, on the mainland of India. Navi Mumbai is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, ...

, Maharashtra. The corridor is being built by the

Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) is a public sector undertaking which undertakes planning, development, and mobilisation of financial resources and construction, maintenance and operation of the ''"Dedicated ...

Limited (DFCCIL), a public-sector unit (PSU) under the Ministry of Railways and would be electrified with double-line operation. The Western DFC entails a new single-line branch from Prithla in Palwal district to Tughlakabad in

, running parallel to the existing

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...

–

Faridabad Faridabad is the most populous city in the Indian state of Haryana and a part of Delhi National Capital Region. It is one of the major satellite cities around Delhi and is located 284 kilometres south of the state capital Chandigarh. The ...

–

Palwal Palwal is a city and a municipal council. It is the headquarters of Palwal district, the 21st district of Haryana state in northern India. It is a centre of the cotton trade in the area. It is also a part of National Capital Region. Etymo ...

railway line. The Western DFC is exclusively for transporting freight at higher speeds with increased load carrying capacity. The main freight commodities include fertilizers, food grains, salt, coal, iron, steel and cement. It uses Flash Butt Welded

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may no ...

- hardened (HH) 250 metre long rails with axle load capacity of 25t on tracks and 32.5t on bridges, compared to the existing 22.9t to 25t axle load used on Indian Railway tracks. The line will support freight trains reaching length, pulled by high-power WAG12 electric locomotives and running at speeds greater than . The tracks will be entirely grade-separated and have a generous

loading gauge A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and ke ...

of width and maximum height allowing for the double-stacked

shipping container A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes. In the context o ...

on flatcars to be transported, in contrast to wellcars used in other countries for double-stack rail transport. This allows for single trains to have a 400-container capacity. Trains will have radio communications and GSM-based tracking – a first in the Indian railway sector. The Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (Eastern DFC) has a 46 km long branch line, that connects

Khurja Khurja is a city (and a municipal board) in Bulandshahr district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated around 20 km from Bulandshahr, 85 km from Delhi. Khurja supplies a large portion of the ceramics used in the country, henc ...

Bulandshahr district Bulandshahr district (also spelled Bulandshahar) is a district in the Meerut region in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP), situated between the two rivers Ganga and Yamuna. It is a part of the National Capital Region of India, and Bulan ...

on Eastern DFC with Dadri in

Gautam Buddha Nagar district Gautam Buddha Nagar district is a district of Uttar Pradesh, named after Gautama Buddha. It is a part of Delhi NCR and is divided into 4 sub-divisions i.e. Noida, Greater Noida, Dadri and Jewar. Greater Noida is the administrative headquarters o ...

on the Western DFC. The Western DFC, along with the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway, will be a vital backbone of the Delhi–Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). The Western DFC will cross the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway at 2 places in

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...

: Sancholi village (Gurgaon district) and Paroli village (Palwal district).

About DFC

The

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

established the

(DFCCIL) on 30 October 2006 to undertake construction of this project.Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, India
Railway-technology.com. India's first 2 DFCs, Western Dedicated Freight Corridor from Dadri in

in Maharashtra and Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (Eastern DFC) from

Ludhiana Ludhiana ( ) is the most populous and the largest city in the Indian state of Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the most densely populated urban centre in the state. ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

Dankuni Dankuni is a city and a municipality of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is now part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). It is considered posh area in Hooghly. Geography Location Da ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the four ...

, via

are aimed at decongesting the railway network by moving 70% of India's goods train to these two corridors.Railways' two big ticket projects DFC, bullet train on track despite lockdown: Railway Board Chairman VK Yadav
Economic Times, 6 June 2020.

Route

The Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (Western DFC) will begin at Dadri in

(near

) on a new stretch of railway line right of way between Dadri - Rewari and then will run parallel to existing railway lines via

Narnaul Narnaul is a city, a Municipal Council, and location of headquarters of the Mahendragarh district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is located in the National Capital Region of India. History Narnaul is built on a prominent tell, but th ...

Sri Madhopur Sri Madhopur is a city and a municipality, nearby Sikar City in Sikar district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded on 18 April 1761 under the reign of Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh I. It was mainly famous for his temples. Shrima ...

and Reengus (Sikar). The other important stations will be Phulera and Marwar Junction in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

Palanpur Palanpur is a city and a municipality of Banaskantha district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Palanpur is the administrative headquarters of Banaskantha district. Palanpur is the ancestral home to an industry of Indian diamond merchants. Ety ...

, Amli Road ( Sabarmati),

Makarpura Makarpura is a major area in Vadodara city of the Gujarat state in India. It is an important industrial area of Vadodara city having Gujarat Industrial and Development corporation (G.I.D.C),which comprises many important and large Multinational c ...

(

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capita ...

), Gothangam/ Kosad in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the nin ...

and

Vasai Road Vasai Road Junction (station code: BSR) is a railway station on the Western line and Vasai Road–Roha line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. Vasai is a historical suburban town north of Mumbai and it is located in Palghar district. ...

in Maharashtra before it terminates at

JNPT Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) or JLN Port, also known as Nhava Sheva Port, is the second largest container port in India after Mundra Port. Located in Navi Mumbai's Raigad district, this port on the Arabian Sea is accessed via Thane ...

(Nhava Sheva Port) in Maharashtra's

Raigad district Raigad district (Marathi pronunciation: �aːjɡəɖ, previously Colaba district, is a district in the Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The district was renamed to Raigad after the fort that was the first capital of the former Marath ...

Construction

The DFCCIL has divided the construction work of the Western DFC into 5 section for contracting purposes.

Status updates

* Apr 2005: Project announced by the then

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India ( IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of th ...

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indi ...

. * Oct 2006: The

(DFCCIL) is formed by the Ministry of Railways on 30 October 2006. * Feb 2008: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approves Western DFC and Eastern DFC. * Sep 2009: Union Cabinet approved loan of

Japan International Cooperation Agency The is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social growth in developing countries, and the promotion of international c ...

(JICA). * Jun 2013: Civil construction contract awarded by DFCCIL for Rewari-Palanpur section. * Aug 2018: Inaugural run of a freight train is successfully conducted along the 190 km segment between New Ateli and New Phulera stations. * Dec 2019: DFCCIL successfully tested the 306 km stretch between Kishangarh Balawas (

Rewari district Rewari district is one of the 22 districts in the state of Haryana, India. It was carved out of Gurgaon district by the Government of Haryana on 1November 1989. It is also part of the National Capital Region. The administrative headquarter ...

) and Madar ( Ajmer district). * Jul 2020: Testing for the 352.7 km Madar to

stretch was completed. * Jan 2021: The 306 km route from New Rewari to New Madar is inaugurated by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the List of Prime Ministers of India, 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the List of chief ministers of Gujarat, Chief Minist ...

on 7 January. He also flagged off the ''world's first flat wagon double-stacked container train'' from New Ateli to New Kishangarh on the same day. *Mar 2021: The 335 km long New Madar to New Palanpur section is inaugurated on 31 March. *July 2021: About 60% of the Western DFC has been completed. *Aug 2021: DFCCIL commences Roll-on-Roll-off (Ro-Ro) service on the Western DFC on 14 August. The rake consisting of flat wagons proceeded from New Rewari and arrived at New Palanpur, covering a distance of 630 km. *Aug 2021: DFCCIL successfully completes a 2.75 km long and 25 m high viaduct near

Sohna Sohna is a town and a municipal committee in the Gurgaon district of Haryana, India. A popular tourist weekend and conference retreat, it is on the highway from Gurgaon to Alwar near a vertical rock. Sohna is known for its hot springs and Shiva ...

on the Dadri-Prithla- Rewari section on 26 August. *May 2022: Trial run was started on the section from New Palanpur-New

Mehsana Mehsana (), also spelled Mahesana, is a city and municipality in Mehsana district, in the Indian state of Gujarat. Established in 14th century, the city was under Gaekwads of Baroda State from 18th century to the independence of India in 194 ...

on 13 May, and was finished on 25 May. *June 2022: After the trial run, the New Palanpur-New Mehsana is inaugurated and made operational by DFCCIL, which increases the corridor's length to 720 km, from Dadri to Mehsana.

References

External links