The first freight train powered by electric traction from EDFC’s New Sahnewal (Ludhiana) – to New Khurja (401 Km) via New Khatauli station was run on 11.10.2023. This has marked the completions of the entire EDFC- a 1337 km long corridor built at a total estimated cost of 51,000 crores.
DFCCIL is at an advanced stage of completion. At present, 2383 km i.e. 83.8% of a total length of 2843 km has been commissioned. The DFCCIL project has picked up momentum post 2014-15 with expeditious land acquisition, contract finalisation & continuous support by the Ministry of Railways. It includes 1046 km in WDFC & entire EDFC of 1337 km. More than 95% of the total DFC will be completed by March 2024. The revised estimation cost of the WDFC is at 72,000 crores.
Till now, more than 130,000 trains have already traversed the DFC network since the commissioning of the first section. 74,000 (approx.) freight trains have moved on the EDFC till Sep 2023. Likewise, 56,000 (approx.) trains have moved on the WDFC from the start of operations.
With the operationalisation of EDFC, the coal transit time from the coalfields of Eastern India to the Power Plants of Northern India has been reduced by 30-40% leading to a significant reduction in the inventory costs of Power Plants. Now, with the commissioning of this remaining section, these positivities will be further augmented.
Similarly with the extensive running of trains over WDFC, the freight transit time between the Ports of Western India and North India has been reduced by almost 50%. A classic example of the same was seen in the successful transportation of perishable commodities like milk in much reduced time from the dairies of Gujarat to NCR.
DFCCIL is on a relentless journey of growth and progress as it is continually integrating new sections into its extensive network. In the current fiscal year, it is running more than 230 trains per day. DFCCIL and has earned more than 120 billion Gross tonne-kilometers (GTKMs) & 57 billion Net tonne-kilometers (NTKMs).
DFC has also achieved impressive average speeds, with the highest recorded at 99.82 kmph. DFCCIL has an average speed of 50 to 60 kmph, much higher than that of Indian Railways. These speeds exemplify the efficiency and effectiveness of the DFC in facilitating freight transportation.
DFCCIL is meeting the augmented demand of existing commodities of the IR basket. The Trucks on Train (ToT) service has been relaunched. An agreement has been signed with a leading E-commerce giant for small cargo transportation between WDFC’s New Palanpur – New Rewari stations. All the stations of DFCCIL are Economic Activity Centers and DFCCIL is undertaking the development of additional terminals for handling rail cargo under the new ‘Gati Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal (GCT)
Policy 2022′.
DFC is a vital cog in the National Logistics Policy which aims to reduce the cost of logistics from 15% (approx.) of the country’s GDP to 8% by 2030. The Freight Infrastructure capacity augmentation by DFC is crucial in achieving of Indian Railways target of 3000 MT Freight loading by 2030.
