Question : Dedicated Freight Corridors

(a) the status of progress made in the implementation of dedicated freight corridor scheme and the time by which construction work on the same is likely to be completed and it would become ready for use;

(b) the name of States likely to be benefited by the dedicated freight corridors and the work being undertaken under the said scheme; and

(c) the targeted improvement likely to be made in the present situation of freight transportation and the extent to which the same is likely to have an impact on exports after the completion of the said scheme?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

(SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

(a) and (b): Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) is targeted for commissioning in phases by the year 2020. Eastern DFC connects the mineral and industrial belts of Eastern India with North India. Western DFC connects the ports on the western coast to the hinterland in Northern and North-Western India. The main objective underlying DFCs, is creation of an efficient, dedicated rail corridor for freight movement and thereby reduce the cost and improve the ease of logistics. DFC directly benefits the States coming on its alignment, namely Punjab,
Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra and other neighbouring States by facilitating creation of industrial corridors/clusters based on DFC.

(c): Improvement in the freight transportations are envisaged with commissioning of DFC are :
(i) Improved connectivity to ports and industrial clusters.
(ii) Adequate carrying capacity for freight trains.
(iii) Increase in average speed of freight trains.
(iv) Possibility of running scheduled freight trains with guaranteed transit time.
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