Lok Sabha Question No. 1752 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-30
Subject: Dedicated Freight Corridors of Railways
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Ve Vaithilingam

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1752

TO BE ANSWERED ON 30.07.2025

## DEDICATED FREIGHT CORRIDORS OF RAILWAYS

1752.  SHRI VE VAITHILINGAM:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is a fact that since 1951 the railway sector's share as a transporter  of  freight  traffic  has  declined  from  86.2  percent  to  27 percent today;
- (b) if so, the details of the remedial steps proposed to be taken by the Government in view of the  fact that the  country's  logistics  sector  is required  to  grow  by  25  per  cent  to  meet  the  requirement  of  moving goods; and
- (c)  the  initiatives  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  ensure transparency  in  the  operations  of  the  Dedicated  Freight  Corridors (DFCs) in order to build trust with logistics providers and shippers?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a)  &  (b)  Indian  Railways  has  undertaken  a  comprehensive  set  of initiatives aimed at increasing its modal share in freight transportation. These efforts include the construction of new railway lines, multitracking of existing routes. Port connectivity is being strengthened  to  facilitate  seamless  multimodal  logistics,  while  the

development  of  Gati-Shakti  Multi  Modal  Cargo  Terminal  (GCTs)  is improving  cargo  handling  capabilities.  A  corridor-based  approach  is being  adopted  to  streamline  movement  over  the  high-density  routes. Modernization of rolling stock and the induction of High Horse Power (HHP)  locomotives  are  improving  hauling  capacity  and  reliability  of assets.  The  railway  freight  volume  has  increased  22.1  times  in  FY 2024-25 since 1951.

As on 01.04.2025, across Indian Railways,  431  Railway infrastructure projects  (154  New  Line,  33  Gauge  Conversion  and  244  Doubling)  of total length 35,966 Km, costing approx. 6.75 lakh crore are sanctioned,  out  of  which  12,769  Km  length  has  been  commissioned and an expenditure of approx.  2.91 lakh crore has been incurred upto March, 2025. The summary is as under: -

| Category                |   No of Projects | Total Length NL/GC/DL (km)   | Length Commissioned till Mar'25 (Km)   | Total Exp upto Mar'25( in Cr)   |
|-------------------------|------------------|------------------------------|----------------------------------------|---------------------------------|
| New Lines               |              154 | 16,142                       | 3,036                                  | 1,45,318                        |
| Gauge Conversion        |               33 | 4,180                        | 2,997                                  | 22,753                          |
| Doubling /Multitracking |              244 | 15,644                       | 6,736                                  | 1,22,858                        |
| Total                   |              431 | 35,966                       | 12,769                                 | 2,90,929                        |

Zone-wise/year-wise details of all Railway projects are made available in public domain on Indian Railway's website.

The  details  of  commissioning/  laying  of  new  track  across  Indian Railways is given below:-

| Period   | New track Commissioned   | Average commissioning of new tracks   |
|----------|--------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 7,599 Km                 | 4.2 Km/day                            |
| 2014-25  | 34,428 Km                | 8.57 Km/day (more than 2 times)       |

The  details of  conversion  of single line sections  to multi-track sections across Indian Railways is given below: -

| Period   | Doubling Commissioned   | Average commissioning of Doubling   |
|----------|-------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 1,875 Km                | 375 Km/ year                        |
| 2014-25  | 18,558 Km               | 1687 Km/ year (Nearly 5 times)      |

The  Average  Annual  Budget  allocation  for  multi-tracking  projects across Indian Railways is given below:

| Period   | Outlay                           |
|----------|----------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 2,461 crore/year                 |
| 2014-25  | 20,882 crore (More than 8 times) |

Further,  the  following  steps  have  been  taken  to  enhance  traffic  on Indian Railways:

-  Liberalized investment schemes (General-Purpose Wagon Investment  Scheme,  Liberalized  Special  Freight  Train  Operator scheme, Automobile Freight Train Operator) in wagons have been launched for induction of more wagons in the rail system.
-  'Gati  Shakti  Multi-Modal  Cargo  Terminal  (GCT)'  policy  has  been launched  to  develop  freight  terminals  and  increase  cargo.  112 terminals  under  the  new  policy  have  been  commissioned  since Dec 2021.
-  To facilitate cargo aggregation and thereby, expand the commodity basket, a new transportation product 'Cargo Aggregator Transportation Product' has been introduced.
-  Freight  booking,  charging,  payment,  tracking  of  consignment, wharfage, demurrage, refund all processes have been computerized to make the freight booking easier and accessible.
-  Inter  alia,  Concessions  are  being  provided  under the  'Merry-GoRound' (MGR) policy. Discount schemes for bagged consignments in open and flat wagons and Short-lead concession scheme have been  launched.  Rationalization  of  freight  rates  for  automobile traffic has been done to promote transportation of automobiles by Rail. Charging of Special Haulage Rate for Bulk Cement (Cement in  loose  form)  has  been  initiated.  Telescopic  rate  benefit  to domestic  coal traffic in Rail-Sea-Rail  (RSR)  mode  provided. Rationalization  of  Station-to-Station  (STS)  rates  carried  out  to attract  additional  traffic.  Busy  Season  Surcharge  have  been reviewed.

(c)  In  order  to  ensure  greater  transparency  and  build  trust  with logistics  providers  and  shippers,  Dedicated  Freight  Corridors  (DFCs) Corporation limited has ensured  that Business  opportunities are accessible to all customers without any discrimination as per eligibility criteria fixed by Ministry of Railways, opportunities such as booking of rakes,  opening  of  terminals  etc.  are  available  over  entire  Dedicated Freight Corridors.

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