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Dedicated Freight Corridors in India

WELFARE & DEVELOPMENT
16 Dec, 2022

NEWS HIGHLIGHT

Theme : Growth & Development
Paper:GS - 3

With over 80% of the Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs) running parallel to passenger lines, a parliamentary panel has raised concerns over the lack of safety rules for the goods-only network.Logistics boost: To resolve the increasing need for road decongestion, accident reduction and ensuring energy security, the DFCs were launched to aid the growth of rail transportation in India.

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENT

  1. Context
  2. Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFCs)
  3. Why are DFCs required?
  4. Railway Freight Issues
  5. Significance of DFCs
  6. Road Ahead

Context : With over 80% of the Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs) running parallel to passenger lines, a parliamentary panel has raised concerns over the lack of safety rules for the goods-only network.
 

 

Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFCs) : 

  • The DFC project was first proposed in April 2005 to address the needs of the rapidly developing Indian economy.
  • They were proposed to ensure a more reliable, economical, and faster transportation of goods.
  • These corridors seek to bring a paradigm shift in Railway Freight Operations in the country, thus providing relief to the heavily congested Golden Quadrilateral.
  • The inception of DFCs can be understood clearly as one delves into Indian Railways’ freight operations scenario in the past.
  • It was majorly the Golden Quadrilateral, linking the four metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Howrah and its two diagonals.
  • This comprised 16% of the route, which carried over 52% of passenger traffic and 58% of freight traffic.
  • Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC):
  • It starts at Sahnewal (Ludhiana) in Punjab and ends at Dankuni in West Bengal.
  • The EDFC route has coal mines, thermal power plants and industrial cities. Feeder routes are also being made for these.
  • The EDFC route covers Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal
  • The World Bank is funding a majority of the EDFC.
  • The 351-km-long ‘New Bhaupur-New Khurja section’ will decongest the existing Kanpur-Delhi main line and double the speed of freight trains from 25 km/ h to 75 km/h.
  • Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC):
  • The other arm is the around 1,500-km WDFC from Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai, touching all major ports along the way.
  • The WDFC covers Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
  • It is being funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
  • Connecting Link for Eastern and Western Arm: It is under construction between Dadri and Khurja.
  • The industrial corridors of Delhi-Mumbai and Amritsar-Kolkata are also being developed around both these DFCs.

Why are DFCs required?

  • Logistics boost: To resolve the increasing need for road decongestion, accident reduction and ensuring energy security, the DFCs were launched to aid the growth of rail transportation in India.
  • Industrial competitiveness: This will also lead to the construction of industrial corridors and logistic parks along these routes, thereby making the industrial ecosystem more competitive.
  • Optimizing logistics cost: The new corridors will permit the trains to carry higher loads, in a more reliable manner, thereby reducing logistic costs.
  • Speedy movement: These lines are also being built to maximize speeds to 100 km/hour, up from the current average freight speed of 20 km/hour. This will also reduce transit time from freight source to destination.
  • Global successes: China’s new DFCs have been designed with the objective to link hinterland areas with ports, along with the aim to transfer commodities, raw materials, and other critical resources.

Railway Freight Issues : 

  • Highways are more feasible: The share of roads in freight transport is more than half in India; while in China, it is only 30%. As more highways are built rapidly, the share of roads in freight transport is increasing.
  • Costly transport: The working of Indian Railways is caught up between making it a self-sufficient organization and serving it as a transport system for the poor.  The passenger fares usually remain static for years.
  • Decline in coal freight: Decreasing dependency on coal with increasing thrust on renewable energy has crippled railway revenue from freights.
  • Lack of finances:  About 94 percent of the system’s revenues are spent on operating costs and social obligations, leaving little to modernize its infrastructure.
  • Delayed movement: Most passenger and freight lines are shared, and, when there is a delay, passenger trains are always prioritized. This makes it impossible to ensure deliveries within a set time.
  • Stuck into monopoly: The Indian railways have lacked investment. There’s been an inability to raise passenger fares because it’s a political ideology that public transport in India needs to be accessible for everyone.
  • Populist developments: Railways sometimes seem to be diverting from core issues of safety and operation and to populist needs aimed at wooing corporate travelers.
  • Regulation issue: The Commission of Railway Safety falls under the administrative control of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and deals with matters pertaining to safety of rail travel and train operations.

Significance of DFCs : 

  • Decongestion of road: Around 70% of the freight trains currently running on the Indian Railway network are slated to shift to the freight corridors, leaving the paths open for more passenger trains.  
  • Increased NTKM Capacity: NTKM stands for transportation of 1 tonne of goods over 1 km. Goods trains shall be able to run freely on DFC without any restrictions imposed by the movement of passenger trains.
  • Improvised logistics and connectivity: Tracks on DFC are designed to carry heavier loads than most of the Indian Railways. It will connect the existing ports and industrial areas for faster movement of goods.
  • Speed and Punctuality: To begin with, freight trains will run according to a timetable and as fast as express trains.  
  • Employment generation: Thousands of people will get employed in the construction of the corridor and other facilities along the corridor, including logistics parks to handle cargo and townships in these corridors.

Road Ahead : 

  • DFCs present a significant opportunity for freight logistics in India. What is important is to see how increasingly optimistic traffic projections will be realized.  
  • That depends upon the industrial and trade growth in India and the development of industrial corridors and the feeder network.
  • It would also play a lead role in transforming the railways from a loss-making operation to an efficient and profitable venture.

FAQs : 

  1. What are DFCs ?

ANS.

  • The DFC project was first proposed in April 2005 to address the needs of the rapidly developing Indian economy.
  • They were proposed to ensure a more reliable, economical, and faster transportation of goods.
  • These corridors seek to bring a paradigm shift in Railway Freight Operations in the country, thus providing relief to the heavily congested Golden Quadrilateral.

  1. Where is the connecting link of Eastern and Western arm of DFCs ?

ANS.The connecting Link for Eastern and Western Arm is under construction between Dadri and Khurja.