Modi inaugurates 351 km stretch of much-delayed freight corridor
RAILWAYS & METRO RAIL

Modi inaugurates 351 km stretch of much-delayed freight corridor

The 351 km New Bhaupur-New Khurja section of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC), built at a cost of Rs 5,750 crore, was inaugurated today by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through video conferencing. The Prime Minister also inaugurated the EDFC’s operational control centre at Prayagraj, which will act as the command centre for the entire route.

The inauguration of commercially-run freight trains on the newly opened section along the EDFC will reduce the congestion by 50% on the Khurja-Kanpur route. It will ensure Indian Railways can run more trains on a congested train route that effectively connects North India with the east.

Only 500 km had been completed before the current inauguration of this stretch on this ambitious set of corridors that were intended to ease the pressure on freight schedules owing to their dependence on existing railway lines shared with passenger traffic.

The 1,839 km Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor will run between Ludhiana in Punjab and Dankuni, near Kolkata. In the first phase, the Western DFC (1,504 km) and Eastern DFC (1,839 km) will be completed, but have been beleaguered with delays. Founded in 2006, the Dedicated Freight Corridor of India began as an ambitious project to be completed by 2016-17 at a cost of Rs 81,459 crore. The repeatedly postponed deadline for completion of the entire corridor now stands at 2021.

Land acquisition, encroachment, and contractor delays have been variously attributed. In review meetings earlier this year, DFCCIL had decided more stringent monitoring. DFCCIL terminated its contract this year with Chinese firm, Beijing National Railway Research & Design Institute of Signal & Communication, for work pertaining to signalling, citing delays.

The 351 km New Bhaupur-New Khurja section of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC), built at a cost of Rs 5,750 crore, was inaugurated today by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through video conferencing. The Prime Minister also inaugurated the EDFC’s operational control centre at Prayagraj, which will act as the command centre for the entire route. The inauguration of commercially-run freight trains on the newly opened section along the EDFC will reduce the congestion by 50% on the Khurja-Kanpur route. It will ensure Indian Railways can run more trains on a congested train route that effectively connects North India with the east. Only 500 km had been completed before the current inauguration of this stretch on this ambitious set of corridors that were intended to ease the pressure on freight schedules owing to their dependence on existing railway lines shared with passenger traffic. The 1,839 km Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor will run between Ludhiana in Punjab and Dankuni, near Kolkata. In the first phase, the Western DFC (1,504 km) and Eastern DFC (1,839 km) will be completed, but have been beleaguered with delays. Founded in 2006, the Dedicated Freight Corridor of India began as an ambitious project to be completed by 2016-17 at a cost of Rs 81,459 crore. The repeatedly postponed deadline for completion of the entire corridor now stands at 2021. Land acquisition, encroachment, and contractor delays have been variously attributed. In review meetings earlier this year, DFCCIL had decided more stringent monitoring. DFCCIL terminated its contract this year with Chinese firm, Beijing National Railway Research & Design Institute of Signal & Communication, for work pertaining to signalling, citing delays.

Related Stories

Gold Stories

Next Story
Infrastructure Energy

Asian Energy Services Q1 FY27 PAT Rises 129 Per Cent

Asian Energy Services Limited reported a 129 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit to Rs 128 million for Q1 FY27, compared with the corresponding quarter last year.Revenue increased 135 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2.71 billion, supported by continued momentum across its services business, disciplined execution and contributions from domestic and international operations. EBITDA grew 81 per cent year-on-year during the quarter.As of June 30, 2026, the company’s standalone order book stood at Rs 17.54 billion, with around 60 per cent coming from oil and gas services and 40 per cent from min..

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

BioBTX to Build First Commercial-Scale Circular Chemicals Plant

Dutch circular chemistry technology developer BioBTX is building what it says will be the world’s first commercial-scale plant to convert mixed plastic waste into high-quality aromatic chemicals using its proprietary Integrated Catalytic Cracking Process (ICCP) technology.The facility will be built at Chemical Park Delfzijl on the northern coast of the Netherlands and is expected to create 35 jobs. Covestro, which has been a shareholder and strategic partner of BioBTX since 2024, holds a mid-single-digit million-euro investment in the company.BioBTX’s ICCP technology uses catalytic pyrolys..

Next Story
Real Estate

Awfis Q1 FY27 PAT Jumps 140% as Revenue Rises 27%

Awfis Space Solutions reported a 140 per cent year-on-year rise in consolidated profit after tax (PAT) to Rs 240 million for Q1 FY27, compared with Rs 100 million in the corresponding quarter last year.Revenue from operations increased 27 per cent to Rs 4.25 billion from Rs 3.35 billion, while EBITDA rose 28 per cent to Rs 1.62 billion. EBITDA margin improved to 38.2 per cent from 37.8 per cent. Profit before tax increased 135 per cent to Rs 240 million.The company's co-working business recorded 27 per cent year-on-year growth, supported by demand from enterprises, Global Capability Centres (G..

Advertisement

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get daily newsletters around different themes from Construction world.

STAY CONNECTED

Advertisement