(a) the progress of dedicated freight corridors among major metropolitan
centres in the country ;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Railways propose Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
synchronize to establish a seamless freight connectivity; and
(d) if so, the details thereof?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI K. H. MUNIYAPPA)
(a) & (b): Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) Project comprising Eastern
Corridor (Dankuni-Ludhiana) and the Western Corridor (Jawaharlal Nehru Port
Terminal (JNPT) to Tughlakabad/Dadri) has been sanctioned by the Government.
Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), a Special
Purpose Vehicle, has been formed as a Public Sector Undertaking of the Ministry
of Railways to implement this project. Initial construction contracts for
105 Kilometers in Eastern DFC and for 54 major and important bridges on Western
DFC have been awarded. Funding for Phase-I (Rewari-Vadodara) of Western DFC has
been tied up with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and for Phase-II
(JNPT-Vadodara and Rewari- Dadri), Engineering Services loan agreement has been
signed with JICA. On Eastern DFC, Appraisal for Khurja- Bhaupur Section has been
targeted in March 2011, as a part of the proposed World Bank funding of
Ludhiana-Khurja-Bahupur-Mughalsarai Section. Work has been taken up from
Dankuni to Chandanpur.
(c) & (d): Dedicated Freight Corridors represent high-capacity trunk routes
of railways for long distance freight movement. There is no specific proposal
to synchronise highway and railway development. However, major multimodal or
intermodal hubs along the DFC have been planned with the objective of intermodal
connectivity.