NEW DELHI: With the dedicated freight corridor project nearing completion, managing director of Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) Praveen Kumar said that the focus has now shifted from construction of the corridor to its maintenance.
“This is a moment of transition where we go from building tracks to building a system that adapts and delivers value for generations. Heavy haul freight is high-axle load, high speed, and high-stress infrastructure. It places an exceptional demand on track, sub-structure and rolling stock,” Kumar said at a Global Heavy Haul event on Friday. Sustainable freight requires sustainable maintenance, and for that we must embrace rail grinding, ultrasonic testing, autonomous inspection platforms, and ground-penetrating radars, Kumar added.
As per DFCCIL officials, the corporation is already handling over 13% of India’s total railway freight traffic despite operating just 4% of the overall rail network. By carrying a larger share of freight traffic, the DFCs have decongested the existing rail network, thereby freeing capacity for passenger trains and maintenance blocks.
As on March 2025, around 96.4% of the total 2,843 km DFC network is commissioned, spanning 56 districts in 7 states. The eastern DFC (1,337 km) is fully commissioned, while the WDFC (1,506 km) is 93.2% commissioned with the last leg between Vaitarna and JNPT slated for completion by December this year.
The focus on upkeep follows the steady rise in the daily train operations on both corridors. In FY25, the corridors carried 356 trains per day, which was higher than 241 daily trains in FY24 and 170 in FY23.
Kumar said that the DFCCIL is not burdened with legacy issues which enables the state-run company to think of new ways to operate the corridors. “DFCCIL has a unique opportunity to lead India’s knowledge base on heavy haul maintenance and reliable asset management. A key area we must re-think is the wayside monitoring system. In the past, many railways have adopted systems in a piecemeal fashion. We must develop a single, integrated wayside system capable of real-time condition assessment for the rolling stock,” he said.
The DFCCIL network is considered superior to the existing railways network across several parameters. DFCCIL’s tracks are designed for a 25-tonne axle load, upgradable to 32.5 tonnes which is significantly higher than railways’ 22.9-tonne axle load. This allows for much heavier freight trains and increase the life of civil structures.
Reduced transit times is another area where DFCCIL scores high. For instance, the average freight train speeds on DFCs are substantially higher – 50-60 kmph with a potential of 100 kmph – compared to 25-30 kmph on conventional lines.
Source: The Financial Express
