Dedicated Freight Corridor latest update: Indian Railways is building the ambitious dedicated freight corridor projects with an aim to increase the modal share of rail in the overall freight movement in the country.

The National Rail Plan aims to up the modal share of railways from 28% to 44% by 2051.What is the Dedicated Freight Corridor Project? What are the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs) and by when will they be fully operational? What will be the benefits of DFCs and their multiplier effect on the Indian economy? In this week’s TOI Business Bytes episode, Nanduri Srinivas, Director Operations - Business Development at Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) talks about the game changer project.Dedicated Freight Corridor: Transformational Indian Railways infrastructure I DFC trial, updateWatch the video above to know more about the dedicated freight corridor projects, their timelines, and how dedicated freight lines are also helping free up capacity on regular Indian Railways lines, hence allowing the national transporter to speed up passenger trains and introduce new train services.Nanduri Srinivas explains how trains on the DFCs are now transporting freight at an average speed of 60 kmph, much higher than the 25 kmph on the regular railway lines which prioritise passenger train movement over freight.From coal to milk, Nanduri Srinivas gives examples of how the dedicated freight corridors have brought down the transport time for major commodities - both bulk and perishable - to half, hence reducing overall cost of end to end logistics.From the industry standpoint, dedicated freight lines by railways is helping bringing down the inventory stock up requirement for various commodities including coal at power houses, says Srinivas.He also talks about how Gati Shakti terminals and private sector participation in freight terminals on the dedicated freight corridors will bring in world-class efficiency in freight movement, hence helping railways tap new streams of commodities.