india

Updated: Mar 27, 2018 21:40 IST

The first-ever trial run on the western section of the ambitious dedicated freight corridor project was carried out on Tuesday, with a locomotive attaining 100 kmph speed during the run, an official statement said.

“A locomotive was run on the western corridor between Ateli and Phulera, falling in Mahendragarh district of Haryana and Jaipur district of Rajasthan. During the trial run, the locomotive attained a speed of 100 kmph”, said the statement issued by Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCC).

The distance between two stations is 190 kms which was covered in 3 hours and 52 minutes. The trial run on the eastern corridor of DFC was carried out in March 2016.

The DFC is an ambitious project undertaken by railways. It comprises the eastern and the western corridor. The two corridors have missed several deadlines, though a source in the railway ministry, after a recent review meeting, said the entire project would be completed by March 31, 2020.

When completed, the DFC would ease the burden of the existing railway network and strengthen the economic backbone of the country.

The section on which the trial run was conducted on Tuesday comprised 10 viaducts and major bridges, 127 minor bridges, one rail fly over and 118 route under bridges, the statement said.

There are 6 DFC stations in this section and two junctions, i.e. Ateli and Phulera.

Freight trains on DFC will run at 100 kmph as against the current maximum speed of 75 kmph on Indian railway tracks. The average speed of freight trains will also increase from existing 26 kmph to 70 kmph on DFC.

The Eastern Corridor of the DFC runs from Ludhiana to Dankuni (1856 Kms) and the Western Corridor from Dadri to Jawahar Lal Nehru Port, Mumbai (1504 Kms).

The Western Corridors is being funded by Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA), while the Eastern Corridor from Mughalsarai to Ludhiana is being funded by the World Bank.