Regulations for Dedicated Freight Corridor | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

Introduction

A parliamentary panel has expressed concerns about the safety regulations for the dedicated freight corridor, which runs parallel to passenger lines. The Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, in its 323rd report, has noted that while safety rules are defined for passenger trains, there are no such regulations for goods trains or the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited. The report has further stated that the Ministry of Railways has amended rules without consulting the Commission of Railway Safety, which is responsible for ensuring the safety of rail travel and train operations. The panel has recommended that to ensure impartial working of the Commission of Railway Safety, it should work outside the control of both the Ministries of Railways and Civil Aviation. It has also suggested that the Railways should not make unilateral changes in safety rules without consulting the CRS.

Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC):

• The Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) is designed to establish a secure and effective system for transporting goods and commodities throughout the country. It is a railway corridor with high speed and high capacity that is exclusively dedicated to the transportation of freight.
• The DFC aims to integrate advanced technology and improved infrastructure to create a seamless transportation system.

Need of DFCs and its analysis part

• Indian Railways have implemented various measures to enhance the competitiveness of freight rates, including liberalizing the automatic freight rebate policy, providing discounts on loading of bagged consignment, and granting concessions for the transportation of empty containers and flat wagons.
• Currently, freight trains do not have priority over passenger trains, but the completion of the dedicated freight corridor project is expected to transfer at least 70% of freight trains to the DFCCIL network, improving the timeliness of cargo transportation and potentially leading to the introduction of more passenger trains.
• The project will also allow e-commerce and automobile companies to utilize the corridor, and private containers can use it for a fee. The heavily congested corridors currently carry a significant percentage of passenger and freight traffic, but the freight corridors will help reduce costs, promote faster transportation, and generate revenue and employment opportunities. Additionally, the project is environmentally friendly.

Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC):

• The EDFC begins in Sahnewal (Ludhiana), Punjab and ends in Dankuni, West Bengal.
• The EDFC passes through regions with coal mines, thermal power plants, and industrial cities.
• The EDFC covers several states, including Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.
• The World Bank is the primary source of funding for the EDFC project.
• By constructing the 351-km-long ‘New Bhaupur-New Khurja section,’ the existing Kanpur-Delhi main line will be decongested and the speed of freight trains will be doubled from 25 kmph to 75 kmph.

Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC):

• The WDFC is approximately 1,500 km long and stretches from Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai. It connects with all major ports along the way.
• The WDFC runs through regions in Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh.
• The Japan International Cooperation Agency is the primary funder of the WDFC project.
• A connecting link is under construction between Dadri and Khurja, which will link the eastern and western arms of the project.

The salient features of DFC are as under

• The maximum speed limit is 100Kmph.
• Trains can carry a higher trailing load of up to 13,000 tonnes and travel long distances.
• On the WDFC, double stack trains can be used.
• The freight terminals on the DFC offer efficient handling and value-added services.
• Wagons have a higher maximum moving dimension and an enhanced axle load of 25 tonnes.
• The DFC has an automatic signalling system with Mobile Train Radio communication.
• Overall, the DFC has an increased throughput, which helps in efficient transportation of goods.