Why Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor is significant in UP

The other freight corridor project, which is also under construction, is the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor.

The corridor will originate at Ludhiana in Punjab and culminate at Dankuni in West Bengal. (Twitter/BJP)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 351-km New Bhaupur-New Khurja section of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor on Tuesday. The 1,800-km Easter Dedicated Freight Corridor project will connect north India to the eastern part of the country through a dedicated freight railway tracks. The new section, located in Uttar Pradesh, has been built at a cost of Rs 5,750 crore. It is dedicated only to freight trains, which will run at an average speed of 75 km per hour. Usually, freight trains run at an average speed of about 25 km per hour.

The corridor will originate at Ludhiana in Punjab and culminate at Dankuni in West Bengal. Of the nearly 1,800-km stretch, about 1,000 km will pass through Uttar Pradesh alone.

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The PM said the freight corridor will help decongest the existing passenger-train main line as till date, the same tracks were being used for both freight and passenger trains. The movement of freight trains at an average speed of 25 km per hour used to affect the passenger train services.

While the entire project is being developed on Public Partnership model, different sections have been allotted to different groups. In UP, the 351-km project, built by the Tata Projects Ltd, will start from Khurja in Aligarh and cover districts such as Hathras, Firozabad and Etawah. It will end at Bhaupur, which is in Kanpur Dehat. Thus, this section is expected to help decongest the Kanpur-Delhi main railway line.

The other freight corridor project, which is also under construction, is the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor. The nearly 1,500-km project will connect Dadari in Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai in Maharashtra. It is interesting to note that both the projects will have an intersecting point at Dadari.

Maulshree Seth

Maulshree Seth is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, based in Lucknow. With over 15 years of experience in mainstream journalism, she has built a formidable reputation for her on-ground reporting across Uttar Pradesh. Her expertise spans a wide array of critical beats, including state politics, governance, the judiciary, and rural development. Authoritativeness Maulshree’s work is characterized by depth and historical context. Her coverage of high-stakes state elections and landmark judicial rulings has established her as an authoritative voice on the intersection of law and politics in Northern India. She is frequently recognized for her ability to gain access to primary sources and for her nuanced understanding of the socio-economic factors that drive the world's most populous sub-national entity. Trustworthiness & Ethical Journalism Her reporting is rooted in rigorous fact-checking and a steadfast dedication to neutral, unbiased storytelling. By prioritizing field-based verification—often traveling to the most remote corners of the state—she ensures that her readers receive a truthful and comprehensive view of events. ... Read More

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