Dedicated freight corridors in India
The mid-term appraisal of the Tenth Five Year Plan suggested building dedicated freight corridors (DFC) on trunk routes.
The Ministry of Railways appointed RITES in July 2005 to conduct a feasibility and preliminary engineering cum traffic survey for both corridors.
The Dedicated Freight Corridors Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), a public sector company to build and operate the DFCs, was incorporated on 30 October 2006.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) completed a feasibility study on the project in October 2007, and subsequently agreed to provide funding for the WDFC.
In May 2011, the World Bank agreed to provide funds for a 1,183 km section of the EDFC connecting Ludhiana with Mughalsarai.
[5] The two routes cover a total length of 3,260 kilometres (2,030 mi), with the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor stretching from Ludhiana in Punjab to Dankuni in West Bengal and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor from Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai (Maharashtra) to Dadri in Uttar Pradesh.
[12] with many other added features, such as twin catenary height of 6 and 7.5 meters, auto upward-force adjustment to improve effective current collection in adverse conditions, thereby enabling reduction in energy consumption and allowing trains to run at much higher speeds.
The WAG-9 series are quite similar to the WAP-7 class locomotive but features a different gear ratio, which makes it suitable for heavy freight operations.
[23][24] The dedicated freight corridors aim to bring down the cost of freight transport (by using electricity, longer trains with more capacity can be operated, plus the western DFC utilises double stacking to transport more containers), thus helping Indian industries to become competitive in the world export market.
[25] These corridors will also help India achieve the targets it has committed to in the Paris Climate Accords, by switching from diesel propelled freight trains and fossil fuel-based road traffic to the electricity based railway locomotives.
India is growing in renewable energy production, with most of the country's new electricity generation capacity being added through solar, wind and nuclear sources.
[18] The new generation pantograph allows an increase in the height of the overhead wires (catenary height) from the standard 6 meters (19 ft 8+1⁄4 in) to 7.45 meters (24 ft 5+1⁄4 in),[27] setting the world record for the "high reach pantograph for highest catenary for electric locomotives".
The Uttar Pradesh government has announced the creation of large logistic parks in Meerut and Khurja due to their proximity to the Ganga Expressway and their location on the line of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor.
These areas are set to become major logistical hubs, with access to key transportation networks enhancing their connectivity and facilitating efficient movement of goods.
