Indian Army conducts successful rail trial run of military hardware

The Indian Army conducted its first trial run to move military hardware by rail validating the efficacy of a dedicated freight corridor (DFC) in the country’s north for smooth transportation of armed equipment. On Monday, the drill saw a military train transport vehicle and equipment from New Rewari in Haryana to New Phulera in Rajasthan. Officials said that such dedicated corridors will allow the armed forces to improve the pace of deployment of military hardware to areas where they are needed for operational reasons. These freight trains will be able to clock average speeds of 75 km per hour instead of the current 35-40 km per hour. Further, they added that once the DFC quadrilateral connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata is ready, which will reduce the freight travel several days in some cases. The drill was carried out by the army in coordination with the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL) and Indian Railways. Further, the statement added that these trials were part of the ‘whole-of-the-nation approach’ for optimising national resources and achieving seamless synergy among various ministries and departments. Officials said that a dedicated corridor speeds up transportation time as it does not involve halts as the DFC routes will not require stoppages. DFCCIL has been tasked with developing Indian Railways’ quadrilateral connecting the four metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata, commonly known as the golden quadrilateral. The overall project cost is estimated at Rs 81,459 crore. The organisation is also constructing the western DFC of 1,504 route km and the eastern dedicated freight corridor (EDFC) of 1,856 route km covers a total length of 3,360 route km. These corridors are estimated to be completed in phases by December 2021. Image Source Also read: India, Philippines ink pact for supply of Brahmos missiles