Uttar Pradesh: PM To Inaugurate Bhaupur-Khurja Section Of Dedicated Freight Corridor Tomorrow

Launching one of the largest rail infrastructure projects, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually inaugurate the ‘New Bhaupur- New Khurja section’ of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) tomorrow (December 29).

Built at a cost of Rs 5,750 crore, the 351-km New Bhaupur- New Khurja section of EDFC in Uttar Pradesh will open new vistas of opportunity for local industries such as aluminium industry (Pukhrayan region of Kanpur Dehat district), dairy sector (Auraiya district), textile production/block printing (Etawah district), glassware industry (Firozabad district), pottery products (Khurja of Bulandshahr district), asafoetida or ‘hing’ production (Hathras district) and locks and hardware (Aligarh district).

Expected to be a catalyst for the development of industries and growth centres along the corridor, the section will also decongest the existing Kanpur-Delhi main line and will enable Indian Railways to run faster trains.

During the event, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate EDFC’s Operation Control Centre (OCC) at Prayagraj.

A state-of-the-art Operation Control Centre (OCC) at Prayagraj will act as the command centre for the entire route length of the EDFC. The OCC is one of the largest structures of its type globally, with modern interiors, ergonomic design and best-in-class acoustics.

The building is environment-friendly with a Green Building rating of GRIHA4 and is built as per norms of the ‘Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan’.
The EDFC (1,856 km route) starts from Sahnewal near Ludhiana (Punjab) and will pass through the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand to terminate at Dankuni in West Bengal.

It is being constructed by Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), that has been set up as a special purpose vehicle to build and operate Dedicated Freight Corridors.

DFCCIL is also constructing the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (1,504 km route) that connects Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai and will traverse through the states of UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal will also be present on the occasion.

Indian Railways is the lifeline of the nation. To make India a five trillion dollar economy, it is essential to develop transport networks at a fast pace. Development of transport infrastructure will give a major fillip for the growth of industries, commerce, exports and imports, and agriculture.

To develop transport infrastructure, the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India was set up by the Government of India.
Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India is constructing the Western DFC (1,504 km route) and Eastern DFC (1,856-km route including Sonnagar-Dankuni PPP Section).

This New Bhaupur - New Khurja section is situated in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh and is funded by the World Bank. The new stations in this section are Bhaupur, Kanchausi, Achalda, Ekdil, Bhadan, Makhanpur, Tundla, Hathras, Daudkan and Khurja.

Some of the important Industrial areas that straddle this section are Aligarh, Khurja, Firozabad and Agra. In this stretch, 68 level crossings have been eliminated for augmenting speed and safety.

The section has 19 major bridges, 414 minor bridges, and seven rail flyovers. Tata - Aldesa JV was responsible for civil work and Alstom was responsible for System (Signaling and Electrical).

The opening of the section would enable decongestion of existing Kanpur-Delhi main line, which is among the most congested sections of Indian Railways and line capacity utilisation is more than 150 per cent.

With the release of freight trains on to the DFC route, Indian Railways will be able to run faster and punctual trains and will get time to do routine maintenance, which was earlier a daunting challenge.

Besides enhancing punctuality on existing NCR routes, it would help in increasing the average speed of goods trains up to 60-70 kmph from the present average speed of 25-30 kmph.

Kanpur Dehat, Aurayia, Ethwah, Firozabad, Hathras, Aligarh and Bulandshahr districts will get a major boost in the economy because of the opening of the DFC stations in the hinterland areas of these districts in Uttar Pradesh.

During foggy weather, this section will provide major relief to the Indian Railways in both passenger and freight movement. Impact of fog will be nullified due to super-extra capacity to run trains on this newly commissioned corridor.