The development project of New Rewari station as a Gati Shakti Multi Modal Cargo Terminal has been awarded to Pristine Mega Logistics Park Private Ltd. by the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd. (DFCCIL). The terminal is expected to cater to container traffic including Double Stack Container trains.
The New Rewari terminal will be connected to road by the Rewari-Narnaul state highway, which should expectedly increase the container traffic by almost 30%. It can also function as a logistics hub under the ‘Hub-and-Spoke’ policy of Indian Railways for EXIM as well as domestic container traffic.
Under the PM Gati Shakti National Masterplan, the Indian Railways’ Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal Policy works towards transforming the way rail freight is process and moved with the establishment of modern terminals. Under the Policy, two dedicated freight corridors are being constructed – the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) from Ludhiana to Sonnagar covering 1,337 km, and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Terminal (JNPT) to Dadri covering 1,506 km.
Until January 2023, the DFCCIL has commissioned freight corridors worth INR 97,957 crore and spanning a total of 1,724 km – 861 km on EDFC and 863 km on WDFC.
In mid-2022, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India reprimanded the DFCCIL for several delays on EDFC and WDFC on account of slow pace in handing over the land to contractors, utility shifting, design delays and delays in the overhead equipment works, among others, leading to cost overruns. The sections reviewed by CAG also included the Rewari-Iqbalgarh stretch on the WDFC, and it was revealed that the delays on EDFC and WDFC cost a hefty amount of INR 2,233.81 crore to DFCCIL owing to the price escalations.
National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC), under the Ministry of Commerce, is implementing a number of projects along the corridor, for development of Integrated Industrial Townships. The logistic sector will benefit significantly, with the development of new freight terminals, Multimodal Logistic parks and Inland Container Depots — creating direct and indirect employment in the project-influence areas.
