NEW DELHI: The Indian Railways has tied up with Japanese bank for funding of Rs 30,000 crore for its dedicated western freight corridor project that would connect Mumbai to Delhi. The ambitious Rs 4,23,000-crore project involves building of nine large industrial zones, high-speed freight line, three ports, six airports, a six-lane intersection-free expressway connecting Mumbai with Delhi and a 4,000-MW power plant.
Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL), a special purpose vehicle under the railwaysministry, has signed an agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency for its upcoming western corridor project. The 1,490-km project would be executed in two phases. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said last week that the project would be completed on schedule by 2016-17.
The 1,000-km Phase-I would stretch between Rewari in Haryana to Vadodara, whereas Phase-II would connect Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai to Vadodara and Rewari to Dadri in UP. The contract work for the civil works and laying tracks has already been awarded. "The government is vigorously pursuing the availability of funds for the progress of the projects," said an official from the ministry.
The work for 1,800-km eastern freight corridor that would connect Ludhiana in Punjab to Dankuni in West Bengal has already begun and the government is in advance stage of talks with the World Bank for funding of the project. "To give thrust to the projects, work on the 120-km line connecting Mughalsarai in UP to Sonnagar in Bihar has already started by railways by funding 700 crore from its internal resources," the official confirmed. Both the corridors are targeted for commissioning in 2016-17 and would ease the freight movement as the existing trunk routes between Delhi to Mumbai on Western corridor and Delhi to Howrah on Eastern corridor are highly saturated.
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