Vadodara: The Dedicated Freight Corridor established at Varnama in Vadodara district is expected to emerge as a major boost for trade and industry in central Gujarat once it becomes fully operational.

Currently, approximately 50 to 70 goods trains are running on the Vadodara-Mumbai route every 24 hours, but there is a well-laid plan to divert all goods trains to this special track in the next two to three months. Under this plan, the number of goods trains on the dedicated track on this route will increase to 110 to 140 in the coming months, which will double the carrying capacity of the railways. Moreover, as soon as this process is completed, the load of goods trains on the old conventional track will become zero, which will directly result in an increase in the number of passenger trains, and their speed can also be increased.

This Dedicated Freight Corridor, passing through 30 villages of Vadodara district, is proving to be a ‘game changer’ for the trade and industry of Central Gujarat in the freight transportation sector of the country.

Based on the information provided by senior officials of the Dedicated Freight Corridor in Varanasi, it can be clearly said that the average speed of goods trains on the old track, which was only 25-26 km/hr, has now reached 70 km/hr due to the Dedicated Freight Corridor. The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) has set a target of increasing this speed to 100 km/hr.

Preparations have been intensified to run goods trains from Vadodara to Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai under the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor as per a timetable, similar to passenger trains. State-of-the-art technology such as the Train Management System is being used for accurate management and monitoring of traffic. Moreover, there are plans to set up a Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal in Vadodara to meet the increasing commercial traffic.

Lower transportation costs

From an economic and commercial perspective, the average cost of air transport is more than Rs 40 per tonne-kilometre and that of road transport is Rs 25 to 30, whereas the cost of this dedicated railway transport is less than Rs 10. This will result in huge savings of Rs 6 to 10 per tonne in the final price of essential commodities available in the market for the common man. When this project becomes fully operational across the country, there will be a direct reduction of about 40 per cent in the traffic of heavy trucks plying on national highways, as a single freight train has the capacity to carry the load of about 400 trucks at a time.

The DFC project is not only economically beneficial but also environmentally advantageous, as shifting the transportation of goods from road to rail is leading to a significant reduction in carbon emissions. This corridor has become a boon for Gujarat exporters due to its connectivity with Mundra, Pipavav, and Kandla ports, in addition to Mumbai. DeshGujarat