World Bank offers $975-mn for eastern dedicated freight corridor

The World Bank has signed a $975 million loan agreement with the Indian government to set up a dedicated freight corridor that will help in faster movement of raw materials and finished goods between northern and eastern parts of India.

The agreement was signed with the department of economic affairs, government of India and Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL) today.

The corridor, Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor-I (a freight-only railway line), will also allow Indian Railways to free up capacity and better-serve the large passenger market in this densely-populated region.

This is part of India's first dedicated freight corridor (DFC) initiative being built on two main routes, the Western and the Eastern Corridors.    

These corridors will help India make a quantum leap in increasing the railways transportation capacity by building high-capacity, higher-speed dedicated freight corridors along the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) - the four rail routes that connect Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata.    

Currently, these routes account for just 16 per cent of the railway network's length, but carry more than 50 per cent of India s total rail freight.