Business & Finance
India's Dedicated Freight Corridor Network Now Fully Operational After Final Sections Inaugurated
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated three new sections of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC), marking the completion of India's entire Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) network. The newly commissioned stretches—New Sanand (N)-New Makarpura, New Umbergaon-New Saphale and New Saphale-New JNPT—together span 326 route kilometres and were built at a cost exceeding Rs 20,700 crore.
With these additions, the full DFC network is now operational. The Ministry of Railways had undertaken construction of two corridors: the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC), running 1,337 km from Ludhiana to Sonnagar, and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC), spanning 1,506 km between Dadri and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Terminal (JNPT).
The direct connection to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) is expected to accelerate EXIM cargo movement, strengthen links between industrial centres and ports, reduce logistics costs and ease congestion on Mumbai's rail network. PM Modi also flagged off freight train services from New Sanand (North), New Makarpura, New Umbergaon and New JNPT in Mumbai.
Before the latest sections were commissioned, the two corridors together were handling an average of about 443 trains daily. According to the Ministry of Railways, freight volumes have been rising steadily, accompanied by higher average speeds, faster turnaround times and improved reliability. The DFC network has also relieved pressure on conventional rail lines by diverting freight traffic, enabling Indian Railways to run more goods and passenger services overall.
Indian Railways noted that the project has boosted transportation efficiency through greater use of Double Stack Container (DSC) trains and higher axle-load trains, while also providing faster connectivity from the northern hinterland to western ports.
Separately, the Union Budget 2026 announced a new Dedicated Freight Corridor connecting Dankuni in the east with Surat in the west, with preparation of the Detailed Project Report already underway.
The Ministry of Railways said such initiatives have contributed to higher freight loading and revenue in recent years. Indian Railways' freight loading rose to 1,670 million tonnes in 2025-26, making it the world's second-largest freight-carrying railway system.
As part of a broader strategy to enhance freight logistics, regional connectivity and last-mile delivery, Indian Railways has introduced several initiatives. These include developing modern rail freight terminals under the Gati Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal (GCT) policy and upgrading Railway-owned goods sheds; wagon investment schemes to encourage private investment in specialised wagons for commodities like cement, oil, steel and fly-ash; and the Joint Parcel Product-Rapid Cargo Service (JPP-RCS) scheme, which offers customised, door-to-door logistics solutions along with online parcel booking through a Virtual Aggregation Platform (VAP) and India Post.
CONCOR, a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Railways, is using the JPP-RCS scheme to offer door-to-door parcel services on the Delhi-Kolkata and Mumbai-Kolkata routes, and is also running a pilot project at Sonik Goods Shed to provide similar logistics services.