1,000 underpasses, over bridges: Rail Ministry's plan to prevent mishaps

The DFC has identified 46 crossings where the rail flyovers are to be constructed to prevent rail crossing accidents

The central government is in the process of constructing a Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) with 1,000 over bridges and underpasses to prevent accidents at railway crossings. 550 underpasses have already been built, a report by Hindustan Times (HT) said. 

The DFC has identified 46 crossings where the rail flyovers are to be constructed. The report added that railway crossings constitute around 40 per cent of all rail accidents. 

Once the project is completed, the goods trains will be able to run at a speed of 100 kmph. DFC will meet all the international standards, RK Jain, managing director of the project told HT.

According to the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCC), out of the total 2,843 km route of Eastern and Western DFC, more than 50 per cent of the route work has been completed so far. 90 per cent of the route is expected to be completed by the end of 2023, the report added. 

DFCC was established in 2006. It comes under the ambit of the Ministry of Railways. 

Under the project, the eastern corridor is 1,875 km long and extends from Ludhiana, Punjab to Dankuni, West Bengal. The 1,506 km long western corridor will extend from Dadri, Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru port, Maharasthra. 

"The DFC will be spending Rs 18,000 crore towards safety, which will enable freight trains to run at a speed of 100 kmph with 12,000 tons of freight," a DFC official was quoted as saying by HT. 

The corridor will also have interchange points between passenger and freight trains every 100 km on Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Kolkata routes. These points will serve as exit points in case of accidents or emergencies.