The railway freight traffic has grown by 8 to 11%, which is projected to cross 1100 million tonnes by the end of 11th Five Year Plan
In mid-2006, the foundation stone was laid at Ludhiana in Punjab for the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) and the Indian Railways embarked on a multi-crore project to set up a direct freight link from the manufacturing bases in the northern hinterland of the country to ports on the west coast and with the coal fields and steel plants in the east coast ports. DFC will cover approximately 3300 route kilometres on two corridors – Eastern and Western corridors- and will greatly improve the freight transportation.
The Western Corridor
Traffic projections for 2021-22 are 128 million tonnes, 6 million TEUs and 264 trains. Total current cost of building the corridor is expected to be INR26,124 crore excluding cost escalation and interest during construction. The western DFC would cater largely to the container transport requirements between the existing and newly emerging private ports in Maharashtra and Gujarat and the northern manufacturing hinterland. It will be funded substantially by the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) under the special terms of the economic partnership scheme of the Government of Japan where 30% of the total value of contracts will have to be sourced from Japan.
The Eastern Corridor
Traffic projections for 2021-22 will be 144 million tonnes and 160 trains. This rail corri-dor will largely serve coal and steel traffic. From Durgapur, the corridor will be extended to the proposed new port near Kolkata as the ports of Kolkata and Haldia have a shallow depth of 8 and 8.5 metres, respectively.
The government plans deep sea port, possibly at the Sagar Island. For the eastern freight corridor, the railways have sought funding from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) for about 70% stretch of the corridor (World Bank for financing the 125 km of Mughalsarai-Khurja portion and ADB for the 426 km Khurja-Ludhiana portion).
Delhi – Mumbai Industrial Corridor
The ambitious USD 90 billion Delhi (INR 4.05 lakh crore) – Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project between the national and financial capitals of the country will revolutonise business and industry in the western region of the country.
The project has been conceived as a high-speed connectivity for high-axle load wagons or double-stacked container trains along the multimodal western dedicated freight corridor, with end-terminals at Dadri in the National Capital Region (NCR) and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port. The DMIC will have world class road connectivity. It is to develop an industrial zone spanning seven states – Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
The project will see major expansion of infrastructure and industry including industrial clusters and rail, road port, air connectivity in these states along the route of the 1483 km long western dedicated freight corridor. About 38% or 564 km of this corridor will pass through the state of Gujarat alone. Gujarat is expected to be a major beneficiary of the development with investment potential reaching one-third of USD 90 billion.
The project is expected to double employment potential, industrial output and exports from the region in five years time. The industrial corridor would house rail sidings with sheds, large inland container depots, warehouses, office building for logistics operators and assembly units for processing raw materials for exports. The industries to be developed include shipbuilding, aircraft maintenance and repair centres, stone and mineral technology parks, airport related industries, healthcare and hospital equipment manufacturing, agri-processing and agri–business, aerospace component manufacturing and defence equipment and components.
The project will be implemented by the DMIC Development Corporation, an autonomous body comprising the government and private sector and implemented SPV. It will be funded through private-public partnership (PPP) and foreign investment, with Japan being a major investor.
In mid-2006, the foundation stone was laid at Ludhiana in Punjab for the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) and the Indian Railways embarked on a multi-crore project to set up a direct freight link from the manufacturing bases in the northern hinterland of the country to ports on the west coast and with the coal fields and steel plants in the east coast ports. DFC will cover approximately 3300 route kilometres on two corridors – Eastern and Western corridors- and will greatly improve the freight transportation.
A special purpose vehicle (SPV), the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited was created for planning and development, mobilisation of financial resources, construction, maintenance and operation. The eastern sector (1806 km long), stretches from Ludhiana to Dankuni in West Bengal while the 1483 km long western sector, starts from Tughlakabad – Dadri inland container depots and ends at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port of Mumbai. There is also a short section interlinking the two corridors at Dadri in Haryana. The DFC envisages state-of-the-art construction technology, upgrading of transportation systems, substantial increase in wagon axle load to achieve significant reduction in unit cost of rail transport, volume and speed being achieved for freight trains.
Salient features
- Exclusively for running freight trains at speeds upto 100 km/h
- Parallel to existing Indian Railways Corridors and connection at important junction points
- This corridor will bypass populated cities/towns to minimise social and environmental impacts
- Facilitate running of longer and heavier trains
- Reduce unit cost of transportation
- Ensure guaranteed transit time thus providing quicker and reliable service
- Accelerated industrial development in the region
The Western Corridor
Traffic projections for 2021-22 are 128 million tonnes, 6 million TEUs and 264 trains. Total current cost of building the corridor is expected to be INR26,124 crore excluding cost escalation and interest during construction. The western DFC would cater largely to the container transport requirements between the existing and newly emerging private ports in Maharashtra and Gujarat and the northern manufacturing hinterland. It will be funded substantially by the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) under the special terms of the economic partnership scheme of the Government of Japan where 30% of the total value of contracts will have to be sourced from Japan.
The Eastern Corridor
Traffic projections for 2021-22 will be 144 million tonnes and 160 trains. This rail corri-dor will largely serve coal and steel traffic. From Durgapur, the corridor will be extended to the proposed new port near Kolkata as the ports of Kolkata and Haldia have a shallow depth of 8 and 8.5 metres, respectively.
The government plans deep sea port, possibly at the Sagar Island. For the eastern freight corridor, the railways have sought funding from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) for about 70% stretch of the corridor (World Bank for financing the 125 km of Mughalsarai-Khurja portion and ADB for the 426 km Khurja-Ludhiana portion).
Delhi – Mumbai Industrial Corridor
The ambitious USD 90 billion Delhi (INR 4.05 lakh crore) – Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project between the national and financial capitals of the country will revolutonise business and industry in the western region of the country.
The project has been conceived as a high-speed connectivity for high-axle load wagons or double-stacked container trains along the multimodal western dedicated freight corridor, with end-terminals at Dadri in the National Capital Region (NCR) and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port. The DMIC will have world class road connectivity. It is to develop an industrial zone spanning seven states – Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
The project will see major expansion of infrastructure and industry including industrial clusters and rail, road port, air connectivity in these states along the route of the 1483 km long western dedicated freight corridor. About 38% or 564 km of this corridor will pass through the state of Gujarat alone. Gujarat is expected to be a major beneficiary of the development with investment potential reaching one-third of USD 90 billion.
The project is expected to double employment potential, industrial output and exports from the region in five years time. The industrial corridor would house rail sidings with sheds, large inland container depots, warehouses, office building for logistics operators and assembly units for processing raw materials for exports. The industries to be developed include shipbuilding, aircraft maintenance and repair centres, stone and mineral technology parks, airport related industries, healthcare and hospital equipment manufacturing, agri-processing and agri–business, aerospace component manufacturing and defence equipment and components.
The project will be implemented by the DMIC Development Corporation, an autonomous body comprising the government and private sector and implemented SPV. It will be funded through private-public partnership (PPP) and foreign investment, with Japan being a major investor.
Problems
Land acquisition: Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has refrained from forcibly acquiring land because of objections from land owners in Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. This has forced the corporation to go back to the drawing board to re-examine the alignment of the corridors that will result in major delays and endanger the commissioning process.
Cost escalation: The cost for developing both the eastern and the western corridors has escalated from what was originally sanctioned.
Resource mobilisation: INR10,000 crore is expected from the World Bank to construct 730 km between Khurja and Mughalsarai. Financing arrangements for the remaining stretches are yet to be finalised.
This article has been taken from http://www.businesseconomics.in/?p=984
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