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The government on Friday announced the first 56-km stretch of the much-awaited Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project would be commissioned in Bihar in March next year. The announcement comes ahead of the Bihar Assembly polls.
The stretch between Durgawati and Sasaram will be completed and commissioned by the end of the current financial year, Adesh Sharma, managing director of Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCC) implementing the ambitious project told reporters.
“Currently, the technology and safety clearances are being tied up for the stretch. The double line section will be commissioned with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore. This is funded by Indian Railways’ equity,” said Sharma. The stretch on the Eastern arm of the project would divert largely coal freight from existing rail network.
Sharma said DFCC would gradually eliminate all the 18 level crossings on the 56-km stretch by building road overbridges and road underbridges. The section is being constructed with an average investment of Rs 20 crore per km, Sharma said, highlighting the achievements on the progress of the project.
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DFCC is currently building 3,000 km of double track freight-specific lines from Ludhiana in Punjab to Dankuni in West Bengal as the Eastern DFC and from Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Navi Mumbai as the Western DFC. The project, being built at a cost of Rs 81,459 crore, is aimed at relieving the congested rail network by separating freight traffic from passenger lines.
“Around 85 per cent of land required has been acquired and complete funding tied up. Contracts worth Rs 17,000 crore have been awarded in the past eight months since October 2014 against Rs 13,000 crore of contracts awarded between 2006 and 2014,” said Sharma, adding that apart from the small 56-km-long pilot, the project will be commissioned in phases between 2017 and December 2019.
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Sharma also said DFCC would purchase 200 locomotives from Japanese company Hitachi and that order was being finalised at the Railway Board. Around half of these locomotives will be manufactured in India. When commissioned, the eastern and the western arms will divert freight traffic from the Indian Railways and push rail’s share of freight from the existing 36 per cent to 45 per cent by 2019.
