Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor or Eastern DFC is a broad gauge freight corridor in India. The railway line runs between Ludhiana in Punjab and Dankuni (near Kolkata) in West Bengal via Meerut and Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. This railway line is one of the multiple freight corridors being constructed by the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL), a public-sector unit (PSU) under the Ministry of Railways.
Logistics hub and network
A large logistics hub is proposed in Meerut, which is well connected to EDFC and several expressways.
The Eastern DFC will mostly have double tracks and will be electrified, but the section from Ludhiana to Khurja (365 km) will be single line electrified due to lack of space. This freight corridor will cover a total distance of 1,839 km. This corridor is having a 46 km branch line which is joining Khurja (Bulandshahr district) on the Eastern DFC with Dadri (Gautam Buddha Nagar district) on the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (Western DFC).
As of August 2023, 1150 km or 86% of the Eastern DFC has been completed and 99% required land for these have been acquired. First two DFCs, Western DFC, from Dadri, Uttar Pradesh to JNPT (Navi Mumbai) and Eastern DFC from Punjab to West Bengal, which will decongest the railway network by moving 70% of India's goods trains to these two corridors.
Route The freight corridor will cover first 447 km of Ludhiana - Dhari - Khurja section with single electrified track. After this the remaining line will be double track electrified up to Dankuni in West Bengal. This will pass through the important districts of Sahnewal, Doraha, Ludhiana, Sirhind, Rajpura, Ambala, Yamunanagar, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut (Logistic Hub), Hapur, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Hathras, Barhan, Tundla, Firozabad, Etawah, Kanpur, Prayagraj and Chandauli. To reduce load over the main line, this line will have many junctions. The proposed junctions on this line are Dhandharikalan, Sirhind, Rajpura, Khalanaur, Khurja, Daudkhan, Tundla, Bhaupur, Prempur, Manauri, Karchhana, Jeonathpur, Mughalsarai Junction railway station, Ganjkhwaja, Sasaram, Dehri On Sone, Son Nagar, Gomoh, Andal, Bardhaman and Dankuni (The eastern terminal point).
Eastern DFC State Distance Covered Punjab88 Haryana72 Uttar Pradesh1076 Bihar236 Jharkhand199 West Bengal202 Total 1873
Logistic hub A large logistic hub is also proposed in Meerut, since the city is suitable major hub due to its well connectivity and proximity with expressways like Delhi–Meerut Expressway, Delhi–Dehradun Expressway, Ganga Expressway, Delhi–Mumbai Expressway, Yamuna Expressway and upcoming Meerut Haridwar Expressway.
The land around the departure points of Meerut, from where the expressway is to start, will be developed for industries.
Ashok Agarwal, national president, Indian Industries Association (IIA), said "We have also received queries related to the allotment of land along the Ganga Expressway from investors. Most of the queries are for land in Meerut, Budaun and its adjoining areas".
Government proposed following investment zones -
Meerut along Delhi Meerut Expressway Meerut Muzaffarnagar Investment region Dadri Noida Ghaziabad Investment Region
Construction This corridor is divided into multiple sections for contracting purposes.Rlys’ reluctance to cede control delays $1-billion World Bank loan | Business Line. Thehindubusinessline.com (3 April 2013). Retrieved on 5 May 2014.Project Status | DFCCIL . https://dfccil.com/ (3 April 2022). Retrieved on 19 June 2022.
Eastern DFC Section Distance in km Route Status Project contractor Completion Date Ludhiana - Khurja365 Ludhiana-Ambala-Yamunanagar-Saharanpur-Muzaffarnagar-Meerut-Hapur-Bulandshahr-Khurja GMR Group 2023 August Dadri - Khurja (branch line)46 Dadri-Khurja GMR Group 2022 October Khurja - Bhaupur 351 Khurja-Aligarh-Hathras-Tundla-Etawah-Bhaupur Tata Projects India- Aldesa Group 2020 December Bhaupur - Manauri - New Ganjkhwaja 279 Bhaupur-Prempur-Manauri (near Prayagraj)-Chheoki East/ Karchhana west (near Prayagraj) - New Ganjkhwaja GMR Group 2023 June New Ganjkhwaja - New Chiraila Pauthu 123 New Ganjkhwaja - Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay Nagar - New Chiraila Pauthu GMR Group2021 July New Chiraila Pauthu - Sonnagar137 New Chiraila Pauthu - Dehri On Sone-Sonnagar C&C Construction Gurgaon and BSCPL 2021 December Sonnagar - Dankuni375 Sonnagar- Andal (Phase - I) https://www.financialexpress.com/business/railways-indian-railways-achieves-a-milestone-completes-construction-of-eastern-dedicated-freight-corridor-know-its-details-benefits-3337960/ 163 Andal – Dankuni (Phase - II) Total 1839
Operations control center (OCC) Built by Alstom at Prayagraj, OCC will house command and control center to monitor all trains and power supply systems on Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor. It will be staffed by 150 people and the facility is spread across 4.2 acres. Latest Map from DFCCIL: https://dfccil.com/images/uploads/img/MapDFC_NIZC.png
Status updates Apr 2005: The project is announced by the then Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh. Oct 2006: The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) is formed by the Ministry of Railways on 30 October. Feb 2008: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approves the Western DFC and the Eastern DFC. Sep 2009: The Union Cabinet approved a JICA loan. 2018-19: DFC is revived by the Union government after a decade of inactivity, with a target of going live by March 2023. However, the COVID crisis stalls the project's progress, and the timelines are shifted by a year. A major part of the project becomes operational by 2023. Jun 2023: 77% of the DFC is completed and the project is set to be completed by the end of 2023. Oct 2023: The last leg of the Eastern DFC underwent a successful trial run. With this, the line is completed to Son Nagar. Feb 2024: Construction has been completed. Apr 2024: Fully operational
See also Dedicated freight corridors in India Western Dedicated Freight Corridor East–West Dedicated Freight Corridor North–South Dedicated Freight Corridor East Coast Dedicated Freight Corridor Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India High-speed rail in India
References
External links Eastern DFC Map of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) Official link for project status