Tata Projects today announced it has commenced work on the ₹4,328-crore project to build the 320-km stretch of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, a dedicated freight line connecting Delhi and Mumbai.

Along with IRCON International Ltd, Tata Projects is part of the Express Freight Consortium led by Mitsui & Co of Japan. Segregating freight traffic from passenger traffic shall pave the way for high speed movement of freight, and is one of the most important infrastructure projects taken up by the Indian Railways.

The consortium plans to complete the work in scheduled time of 48 months using Automated Track Laying Machines. The machine lays the sleepers, special rails imported from Japan and clamps all together in an automated manner simultaneously.

Vinayak Deshpande, Managing Director, Tata Projects, in a statement said: “Tata Projects, along with the other consortium partners, aims to bring the best of the technological advancements for this project in line with global standards. This project is an important milestone towards modernisation of India’s rail freight transportation.”

Toru Suzuki, Chairman & Managing Director, Mitsui & Co India said: “The Western Dedicated Freight Corridor is the backbone linking Delhi and Mumbai, and also a significant symbolic cornerstone of the flourishing strong bond between India and Japan. We are confident that our consortium will complete the work successfully and as scheduled. “

The DFC project will link the four hubs of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata at the corners of India’s Golden Quadrilateral. The Japanese government has provided yen loans for the Western DFC project under the Special Terms for Economic Partnership.