In a game changing development, Freight Trains have started to attain top speeds of above 90 kmph on newly inaugurated New Khurja- New Bhaupur section of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor. Faster speeds would result in faster delivery of goods and faster turnaround reducing freight costs.

It may be noted that Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister had inaugurated the 351 Km New Khurja- New Bhaupur section of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor on 29.12.2020. Meeting the objectives, the new section is witnessing seamless transportation of major freight commodities at a speed above 90 kmph on this newly inaugurated section. So far, 53 freight trains have been operated on this new section till 03rd January, 2021.

Till 03.01.21, Total Trains ran = 53

•           Between New Khurja - New Bhaupur (Down Direction) = 32

Best Speed achieved = 93.70 kmph

•           Between New Bhaupur - New Khurja (Up Direction) = 21

Best Speed achieved = 85.98 kmph

After the commissioning of this new section, Coal, Jute, Petroleum, Container, Iron & Steel and other minerals are primary commodities moving towards NCR and Punjab & Haryana area whereas Rice, Wheat and Food grain products from Punjab and Haryana area, Fertilizer, Steel, Coal loadable empty wagons etc are moving towards eastern India.

It is noteworthy that in the inaugural run, two freight trains were flagged off, 1.5 KM Long Haul 9400 Gross Ton Train loaded with Food grain from Mullanpur & Faridkot of Ludhiana, Punjab between New Khurja and New Bhaupur and 1.5 KM Long Haul 10420 Gross Ton Train loaded with Power House Coal from Chruri Siding Ray, Ranchi, Jharkhand & Dudhichua Wharf Siding, Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh between New Bhaupur and New Khurja of DFC network. On the return journey after unloading, the above rake achieved a speed of 90 kmph over DFC.

In the first phase, DFCCIL is constructing the Western DFC (1504 Route km) and Eastern DFC (1856 route km including PPP section of Sonnagar-Dankuni Section. The EDFC starting from Sahnewal near Ludhiana (Punjab) will pass through the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand to terminate at Dankuni in West Bengal. The Western Corridor connecting Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) in Mumbai will traverse through the states of UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra of WDFC & EDFC (excluding the Sonnagar – Dankuni PPP section) i.e. 2800 route Km will be commissioned by June 2022.

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DJN/MKV