Minister says 1,110-km of EDFC-WDFC completed with Rs.10,357cr Capex spent
Chhattrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSTM) Railway Station in Maharashtra and New Delhi Railway Station in Delhi have been identified for development under Hybrid Build Operate and Transfer (HYBOT) model of Public Private Partnership mode, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha 1 April 2022.
So far, 1,110-km out of total sanctioned length of 2,843 km of Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs) has been completed.
The Ministry is working on the 1,337-km Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) from Ludhiana to Sonnagar and the 1,506-km estern Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Terminal (JNPT) to Dadri.
Capex spent on these projects is Rs.10,357 crore as of 1 Mar 2021 out of the Rs.74,788 crore sanctioned.
The DFCs will offer higher transport output and carrying capacity due to faster transit of freight trains, running of double stack container trains and heavy haul trains due to which the unit cost of freight transport will get reduced substantially and there will be savings in the logistics costs, he explained.
This would also improve the supply chain for the industries and logistics players located in DFC’s catchment areas leading to growth of EXIM traffic as well.
Development of New Freight terminals, Multimodal Logistics Parks and Inland Container Depots along both Eastern and Western DFCs are in different stages of implementation.
Also, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been executed between Indian Railway Station Development Coporation Limited with Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation and Surat Municipal Corporation for the development of Surat Multi Modal Transportation Hub.
Elsewhere, work is in progress on the redevelopment of Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh), Safdarjung (Delhi), Bijwasan (Delhi) and Gomti Nagar (Uttar Pradesh). Sir. M. Visvesvaraya Terminal (Karnataka) is ready for commissioning under the redevelopment programme.
Gandhinagar Capital railway station (Gujarat) and Rani Kamlapati railway station (Madhya Pradesh) have been developed and commissioned.
On the basis of the experience of these two stations, techno-economic feasibility redevelopment plans of other stations are being worked out.
Since station planning is a complex and dynamic process involving multiple stakeholders, further details on redevelopment plans cannot be given at this stage.
Among the various models of development being explored for station development, PPP model is also being examined, he said. fiinews.com
