Page 52 - NIS English 1-15 Oct, 2026

NATION | Strengthening Infrastructure

Freight Corridors

The Lifeline of a Resurgent India

The Central Government is moving forward to transform the country into a ‘Viksit Bharat’
(Developed India) by 2047. Infrastructure of all kinds plays a pivotal role in achieving this
objective. This is why the current central government is rapidly developing every part of the
country. As part of this initiative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stones and
inaugurated projects worth ₹35,000 crore in Vadodara, Gujarat, on September 8; these projects
spanned freight corridors, ports, railway lines, roadways, power, housing, and water supply...

developed India needs seamless connectiv- Since 2014, 50,000 modern rail
ity that aligns with modern requirements. coaches have been manufactured in
A In this context, the Dedicated Freight Cor-
ridor project, which spans over 2,800 kilometres, India, and nearly 2.5 lakh wagons have
was completed. Although the concept for this been added to the railway network.
corridor originated in 2004 and a special company
was formed in 2006, the associated files merely
shuttled back and forth until 2014. Only after the of a rapidly developing India. Currently, more than
government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi 430 freight trains operate daily on the Eastern and
assumed office in 2014 could work on this corridor Western Freight Corridors. A freight train that previ-
be brought to completion. Today, the Eastern and ously took six and a half hours to cover a distance of
Western Dedicated Freight Corridors are becoming 100 kilometres can now cover the same distance in
the backbone of the nation’s trade and commerce. less than half that time. A journey that typically takes
The Dedicated Freight Corridor serves as the lifeline 30 hours to transport goods by truck is completed in