At least two multi-lateral agencies, JICA and the World Bank, have evinced interest in funding for three proposed dedicated freight corridors in India.

These new corridors, detailed project reports of which have already been submitted to the Railway Board, will traverse along the East Coast, North - South and East - West routes / states of India, says Ravindra Kumar Jain, Managing Director, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL).

According to him, over 96 per cent of the existing Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) - Eastern & Western arms put together covering 2843-km - is now 96.4 percent complete. It passes through 56 districts in seven states of with average traffic increasing by 60 per cent over last year.

In an interview to businessline, he talks about the proposed new freight corridors, the completion schedule of 100 km of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, plans for targeting new cargo, among others

 Excerpts:

Q

The last leg of the Dedicated Freight Corridor, around 100 km of thr Western arm, is still pending completion. Your comments.

Over 93.2 per cent of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) is complete, including the feeder route to various ports, and some 100-odd km is still left. This means 1406 km out of 1506 km is ready and operational. And 50 per cent work on this remaining 100 km is completed too. We are hoping that by December 2025 the entire stretch will be ready. Contracts have been issued.

Overall, 96.4 per cent of the entire Dedicated Freight Corridor is complete and operational; this includes 100 per cent of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor that is operational now.

Q

 What is the volume movement now?

Across the two arms we are running over 320 trains per day. There are over 200 trains per day that run along the EDFC - 100 in up direction and 100 in down direction. This is being increased by 20. There are 120 trains running along WDFC - 60 in each Up and Down direction.

We are hopeful that by December-end this number will go up to 400.

DFC has created huge line capacity, and these are dedicated exclusively for freighters.

Right now, a rough estimate suggests that at least 40 - 50 per cent the track capacities are being utilised. And this can be taken up the 150 per cent.

There is a line capacity of 120 in each direction in each of the two corridors. So overall line capacity is 480 trains.

Q

Do you think DFC is yet to be established as a concept?

Line capacity creation is done keeping in mind the long-term view. So, in line with Vikshit Bharat we will see full capacity utilisation of tracks over the next few years.

The DFC as a concept is well established now.

Dedicated lines for movement of goods trains will free up tracks for passenger train movement, the speed will increase. A slow-moving freight train with a speed of 60-65 km per hour will now use these dedicated tracks making way for a comparatively faster passenger train with speed of 110 - 130 km per hr.

This line segregation will also reduce operational costs.

Q

Are more DFCs planned?

Three more DFCs are in the works. One is the East Coast Freight Corridor which will run from Kharagpur (West Bengal) to Vijaywada (Andhra Pradesh); the second will be East West Corridor that runs between Kharagpur and Palghar (Maharashtra), while the third will be the North South Freight Corridor from Vijaywada to Itarsi (Madhya Pradesh) as of now.

We were asked to prepare the DPRs for these projects and that has been done. They have been submitted to the Railway Board, who will take a call now.

Two DPRs - one on the North-South Corridor and the East Coast Corridor - were submitted before the elections and the last one - the East West Corridor DPR - was submitted last month.

Q

How would these projects be financed?

There is a rigorous selection process that the Railway Board follows while taking a call on projects.

In case of these new freight corridors both World Bank and JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) have expressed interest to finance them. The Dedicated Freight Corridors are vey viable projects and they know it too.

But I think we (Railways) have sufficient infrastructure funds available with us. If at all we require funding from multilateral agencies then that option will allso be explored.

Q

Beyond coal, perishables and auto parts, is DFCCIL looking to expand cargo categories?

We have started catering to e-commerce from Sanand to Rewari and (are) exploring similar movement from other locations. We also want to maximise or expand the scope of container traffic to include LNG container movement and even ODCs (Over Dimensional Cargo) - that is goods or cargo that exceed the standard size and weight limits set for transportation modes like trucks, trains, or ships. Our track specifications are better from that of the Railways.

We are also in talks for starting automobile movement along the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor - from Surat to say Kanpur and beyond. We are working out the solution.

Q

Does the waiver of 18 per cent GST on Railway SPVs apply on DFCs?

Yes, it does and is a big help for both DFCCIL and the Railways.

 As a Rail SPV we have to follow all commercial rules laid down by the Railways; and we are not a competitor to them. So whatever loading takes place, the earnings go to the Railways account. In return, the O&M (operation & maintenance) costs and debt servicing (principal and interest repayments) funds are made available to us by the Ministry of Railways.

This funding arrangement as per the concession agreement is called Track Access Charge (TAC). As per earlier tax regime, TAC was considered as a service and chargeable at 18 per cent GST. No that is waived off.

So, it is a direct savings for both.

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