World Bank has approved an additional loan of 650 million dollars for India’s Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) Project.
It was approved in third round of World Bank funding and follows earlier two other loans by the bank for this project.
This loan will fund

• To build 401 km Ludhiana-Khurja section that falls in three North Western states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.
• To develop and enhance the institutional capacity of the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL) and to build and maintain the DFC infrastructure network.

Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) Project

• DFC Project aims at the faster delivery of goods between the northern and eastern parts of the country.
• The project will further help to increase the capacity of freight-only lines. It will raise the axle-load limit from existing 22.9 tonnes to 25 tonnes.
• The speeds of freight carriers will be further boosted up to 100 km/hr due to dedicated freight lines.
• Apart from faster delivery of goods, this project is also going to help to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions caused by road transportation in this region.