Cargo trains to criss-cross India in new ₹1.5 trillion corridors

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Indian Railways is exploring three new freight corridors to extend the high-speed cargo network deeper into southern, eastern, and central India, building on the success of two operational lines to create a continuous nationwide logistics loop, two people aware of the development said. Detailed project reports for the three new lines have been completed and are under examination, said one of the three people quoted earlier.

Together, the new dedicated freight corridors (DFCs) are estimated to cost around ₹1.5 trillion, the person said. The DFCs under consideration are: 1,115 km East Coast Corridor (Kharagpur–Vijayawada); 1,673 km East–West Corridor (Bhusawal–Dankuni); and 975 km North–South Sub-Corridor (Vijayawada–Nagpur–Itarsi. At least one corridor will be selected first based on technical feasibility, traffic potential, and funding availability.

The proposal may be included in the upcoming Union Budget with token allocations for FY27, according to the three people quoted earlier–all three spoke on the condition of anonymity as details are not public yet. The new corridors will complement the existing 1,337 km eastern and 1,506 km western DFCs. About 1,404 km of the western corridor is operational, while the remaining 102 km from Vaitrana to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) is scheduled to be commissioned soon.

The existing corridors have boosted freight speeds and eased congestion on passenger routes. According to the ministry of railways, the national transporter's share in total freight movement dropped from over 60% in the 1990s to about 25% in 2020. But post-Covid, aided by the dedicated corridors, this has gone up to 27%, and the National Rail Plan targets to hit 45% by