The Rewari-Madar section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

    • Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India is constructing the Western DFC (1506 Route km) and Eastern DFC (1875 route km including Sonnagar-Dankuni PPP Section).

    • The EDFC starting from Sahnewal near Ludhiana (Punjab) will pass through the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand to terminate at Dankuni in West Bengal.

    • The Western Corridor connecting Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) in Mumbai will traverse through the states of UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra of WDFC.

306 km Rewari -  Madar section

    • This section falls in Haryana State (for approx. 79 Km in Mahendragarh & Rewari districts) and Rajasthan State (for approx. 227 Km in Jaipur, Ajmer, Sikar, Nagaur & Alwar districts).

    • Approx 40% of WDFC is in Rajasthan

    • Approx 250 km of DFC is in Haryana state

    • This section contains 16 major bridges and viaduct (1 viaduct & 15 major bridges), 269 minor bridges, 4 Rail Fly Overs, 22 Road Over Bridges & 177 Road Under Bridges eliminating 148 Level crossings.

    • There are 9 newly built DFC stations in this section, six crossing stations (i.e. New Dabla, New Bhagega, New Sri Madhopur, New PacharMalikpur, New Sakun and New Kishangarh) and three junction stations (i.e. New Rewari, New Ateli and New Phulera).

    • Total value of Contracts including Civil, Electrical and S&T is Rs. 5800 crore in this section excluding land.

    • The opening of this stretch will benefit various industries in Rewari – Manesar, Narnaul, Phulera & Kishangarh areas of Rajasthan, Haryana and National Capital Region. .

    • In addition to this, the container depot of CONCOR at Kathuwas will also come on the DFC map and get advantage in terms of faster throughput.

    • The ports of Gujarat like Kandla, Pipavav, Mundhra, Dahejetc will have an uninterrupted connectivity to the Northern parts of India.

    • With the dedication to the Nation of the 351-km Bhaupur-Khurja section, and construction of connecting link between Khurja - Boraki-Dadri- Rewari, seamless movement between WDFC & EDFC can ensue.

    • DFCCIL had conducted a trial-run of Indian Railways (IR) freight trains on this section.

    • Currently, Indian Railways freight trains can carry 61-71 ton weight per freight carriage at an approximate speed of 60 kmph. 

    • The newer, advanced wagons can carry weights upto 81 ton per wagon at an approximate speed of 100 kmph. The newer wagons are safer and modern too.

    • BLCS-A and BLCS-B wagon prototype have enhanced axle load of 25 tons and been designed to maximize capacity utilization and uniform distributed and point loading.

About DFCCIL

DFCCIL will run freight train at the maximum speed of 100 km/per hour as against the current maximum speed of 75 kmph on Indian Railway tracks whereas the average speed of freight trains will also be increased from existing speed of 26 kmph on Indian Railways lines to 70 kmph on Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC).

Main objectives of DFCCIL

    • Decongest the existing Indian Railway network.

    • Increase the average speed of goods trains from existing 25 to 70 kmph.

    • Run Heavy Haul trains (higher axle load of 25/32.5 Tonne) & overall load of 13,000 Tonne.

    • Facilitate the running of longer (1.5km) and double stack container trains.

    • Connect the existing ports and industrial areas for faster movement of goods.

    • Energy efficient and environment friendly rail transport system as per global standards.

    • Increase the rail share from existing 30% to 45%.

    • Reduce the logistic cost of transportation

Salient Features

    • Heavy and long Haul train operation of 25 Axle ton with having provision of 32.5 Ton axle load for the First time in India.

    • Double stack containers in Western DFC

    • Double line electric (2 X 25 KV) track to undertake higher haulage at higher speeds

    • Automated New Track Construction (NTC) machine which can lay track at the speed of 1.5 km per day.

    • Automated Wiring train for Overhead Equipment Work (OHE) capable of wiring upto 3 km per shift.

    • Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) for safe and efficient operation

    • Elimination of road level crossing

    • Developing Multi Modal Logistic Hubs and integration with Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor & Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial corridor.

    • The WAG -12 electric super powered double-section locomotives of 12,000 HP are capable of hauling 6000 tonnes at a top speed of 120 kmph. 

    • Equipped with Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT) based propulsion technology, the WAG 12B uses regenerative braking, reducing energy consumption. With 1676 mm of Broad Gauge, these e-locos are designed to take smooth turns even at the sharpest of curves.

    • The second loco which is attached in the middle and working as a piped loco of the long haul train is WAG 9 of 6000 HP built from Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW), West Bengal, India.

    • In a first, double stack 1.5 km long electric train has 360 Ten Feet Container Equivalent Units (TEU) moving which is equivalent to 270 high capacity Road Trailer trucks.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants. The views expressed here are personal.)