Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor or Eastern DFC is a

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

freight corridor in India. The railway line runs between

Ludhiana Ludhiana () is the most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab.164.100.161.224 http://164.100.161.224 › filesPDF Ludhiana State: Punjab Business & Industrial Centre, Tier 2 1 ... The city has an estima ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

and Dankuni (near

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

) in

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

via

Meerut Meerut (, ISO 15919, ISO: ''Mēraṭh'') is a city in the western region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Located in the Meerut district, it is northeast of the national capital, New Delhi, and is ...

and

Kanpur Kanpur (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

. 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. Logistic Hub and Network A large Logisitic Hub is proposed in

, 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 Bulandshahr, formerly Baran, is a city and a municipal board in Bulandshahr district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Bulandshahr district and part of Delhi NCR region. According to the Governme ...

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 Navi Mumbai (; also known as New Bombay, its official name until 1995) is a large city next to Mumbai, located in the Konkan division of the western Indian state of Maharashtra, on the mainland of India. Navi Mumbai is situated in Thane distr ...

) and Eastern DFC from

, 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

. This will pass through the important districts of Sahnewal, Doraha, Ludhiana,

Sirhind Sirhind is a Twin cities, twin city of Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab, India, Punjab, India. It is hosts the municipal council of Fatehgarh Sahib district. Demographics In the 2011 census of India, 2011 census Sirhind-Fatehgarh had a population of ...

, Rajpura,

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab (India), Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala ...

, Yamunanagar,

Saharanpur Saharanpur is a city and a Municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the public administration, administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district. Saharanpur city's name was given after the Sain ...

, Muzaffarnagar,

(Logistic Hub), Hapur,

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Koil) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capital, New Delhi. ...

, Hathras, Barhan, Tundla,

Firozabad Firozabad () is a city near Agra in Firozabad district in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the centre of India's glassmaking industry and is known for the quality of the bangles and glassware produced here. During the reign of Akba ...

Etawah Etawah (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''Iṭāvā''), also known as Ishtikapuri, is a city situated on the banks of Yamuna River in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Etawa ...

Prayagraj Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

and Chandauli. To reduce load over the main line, this line will have many junctions. The proposed junctions on this line are Dhandharikalan,

, Rajpura, Khalanaur, Khurja, Daudkhan, Tundla, Bhaupur, Prempur, Manauri, Karchhana, Jeonathpur,

Mughalsarai Junction railway station Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction, formerly known as Mughalsarai Junction, (station code: DDU, old code MGS) is a railway station in the town of Mughalsarai in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The station contains the largest railway Clas ...

, Ganjkhwaja, Sasaram, Dehri On Sone, Son Nagar, Gomoh,

Andal Andal (ISO 15919: Āṇḍāḷ), also known as Godhai, Nachiyar, and Godha Devi, is the only female Alvars, Alvar. (Orthodoxy posits the number of Alvars as ten, though there are other references that include Andal and Madhurakavi Alvar, ...

Bardhaman Bardhaman (, ), officially Bardhaman Sadar, is a city and municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of Purba Bardhaman district, having become a district capital during the period of British rule. Burdwan, an a ...

and Dankuni (The eastern terminal point).

Logistic hub

A large logistic hub is also proposed in

, since the city is suitable major hub due to its well connectivity and proximity with expressways like Delhi Meerut Expressway, Ganga Expressway, Delhi Mumbai Expressway, Yamuna Expressway and upcoming Meerut Haridwar Expressway. The land around the departure points of

, 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

, 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.

Operations control center (OCC)

Built by

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

, 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

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

s. 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 Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...

. * 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

References

External links

Eastern DFC

Map of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor

Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) Official link for project status
{{DEFAULTSORT:East Dedicated Freight Corridor Transport in Ludhiana Dedicated freight corridors of India Rail transport in Uttar Pradesh Rail transport in Jharkhand 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in India Transport in Kolkata