Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 351 km ‘New Bhaupur-New Khurja section’ in Uttar Pradesh of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) via videoconference on Tuesday. During the event, he also inaugurated the EDFC Operations Control Center (OCC) in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
While recounting the myriad benefits of exclusive freight corridors, Prime Minister Modi attacked the opposition, saying the lack of investment in the development of rail infrastructure “shows how the previous government used to work before us.”
“The plan to develop the dedicated freight corridors has been on paper since 2006, but work started after 2014. Zero kilometers of the corridor were built in eight years, while in the last six to seven years we have built 1,100 Kms.” compared. .
The Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor is a 1875 km stretch connecting the Ludhiana of Punjab with Dankuni in West Bengal. The project aims to decongest the railway lines and facilitate the transport of goods without delays. Uttar Pradesh Prime Minister Yogi Adityanath, who was also present during the virtual inauguration of the project, also stated that the speed of freight trains will double from 25 km / hour to 75 km / hour.
Speaking about the modern and technologically advanced OCC in Prayagraj, Prime Minister Modi said that the cutting-edge Made in India structure shows the strength of the new India. He added that the government has always focused on developing infrastructure for the nation’s growth. The boost in connectivity with the development of the freight corridor will also help Kisan Rail and farmers transport their harvest on time. The OCC, which will be the command center for the entire route, is said to be one of the largest control centers in the world.
In addition to EDFC, the dedicated western freight corridor is also being developed. The 1506 km stretch will connect Mumbai with Dadri in Uttar Pradesh.
In addition to the list of benefits, the Prime Minister said that the dedicated corridor will reduce the logistics cost of the railway network, which will influence the price of goods. It will also increase the ease of doing business and attract more foreign investment, Prime Minister Modi added.
He also spoke about Atmanirbhar Bharat and gave the example of the modern Raebareily coach factory which to date has produced 5000 railway wagons and has now also started exporting.
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