India completes major 2,800-km freight rail network
The DFC enables faster freight movement, supports farm-to-market connectivity and allows double-stack trains carrying cargo equivalent to 250+ trucks.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked the completion of the 2,800-kilometre Dedicated Freight Corridor at an event in Vadodara, Gujarat, on 8 September, describing it as the lifeline of a rapidly developing India.
PM said the corridor's completion fulfilled the connectivity goals set out under the Gati Shakti initiative, calling Vadodara the city where the final links of the project were connected and describing it as a historic task accomplished for 21st-century India.
By separating passenger and freight traffic onto dedicated tracks, the corridor allows more than 430 cargo trains to run daily, cutting a truck journey that used to take 30 hours down to 10-12 hours, with 100 kilometres now covered in less than half the previous time, saving fuel, reducing freight charges and cutting emissions in the process.
PM pointed to the corridor's agricultural impact, saying farmers across eastern and western India could now move perishable goods such as seasonal flowers, vegetables and fruits to larger markets and mandis on time. He also cited a recent operational milestone on the corridor: a double-stack container freight train running from JNPT Port to Vadodara, which he said carried cargo equivalent to more than 250 trucks in a single trip from Mumbai.
