The Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project is expected to be completed by December 2025, Praveen Kumar, managing director at Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL), said. He said that the remaining 102 km section of the Western DFC will be commissioned in phases.
“By December, we are expecting to commission the remaining portion of the Western DFC. This section will be commissioned in a phased manner so that its potential can be realised earlier. In June this year, we are planning to commission one of the blocks,” he said.
The Vaitarna-JNPT (Jawaharlal Nehru Port) stretch, the final leg of the Western DFC, has been facing delays due to execution challenges.
Kumar highlighted that DFCCIL is a profitable organisation with strong financial performance. “The cost of these two corridors is Rs 1.24 lakh crore, and our financial rate of return is 9%, which is quite good. The corridors are also providing many indirect benefits, including a reduction in carbon emissions, fewer accidents, improved supply chains, and timely delivery of goods,” he said.
Currently, the Eastern DFC is fully operational, while the Western DFC is 93.2% complete. Once finished, both corridors will be able to handle 480 trains per day.
Funded through borrowings from multilateral agencies like the World Bank, JICA, and MUFG Bank, the corridors are expected to reduce overall logistics costs, spur the development of new industrial hubs and Gati Shakti cargo terminals, and ease congestion on passenger rail networks.