Indian Railways' ambitious project of developing Dedicated Freight Corridors, conceived to change the face of its freight traffic business, is set to suffer inordinate delays due to troubles in land acquisition and various other issues.
This alternative is being planned as the existing projects continue to be delayed due to land acquisition troubles. The ministry is thinking of adding new track lines to its existing eastern and western DFCs passing major areas in the proposed stretches, senior officials said.
Following two blasts targeting the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor in Punjab, the Railways Ministry is intensifying security measures, including increased patrolling, expanded surveillance, and drone deployment, to safeguard railway infrastructure and prevent further disruptions.
Officials say funds and land likely to be tied up by the end of this year.
Mitsubishi, Itochu, Bombardier, Siemens, GE and Alstom want piece of action.
With work to pick up, finance ministry likely to give around Rs 10,000 crore more for the project.
According to senior ministry officials, the loan is expected to be approved within six months. The plan is to construct two rail corridors between Delhi-Mumbai (western corridor) and Delhi-Kolkata (eastern corridor). These would be exclusively for freight trains and run parallel to the national highways connecting the four metros.
The double-line pilot section will be commissioned with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore.
Two dedicated freight corridors -- Eastern and Western -- are in operation covering several states and districts.
Indian and global construction companies vying for Rs 12,000 crore worth of civil works for Dedicated Freight Corridor.
The 190-km railway line will be between Dadri in Uttar Pradesh and Phulera in Rajasthan, which fall under the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor
The investigation into the Patiala freight corridor blast has led to the seizure of a large cache of munitions and explosives and the uncovering of a deep-rooted terror conspiracy involving Pakistan-backed ISI and pro-Khalistan terrorists, Punjab police said.
'Improved law and order and transparent governance have helped change UP's investment image.'
The ministry has also decided to offer station for redevelopment by inviting open bids from companies.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Monday a record sum of Rs 1.10 lakh crore for the Railways, out of which Rs 1.07 lakh crore is for capital expenditure, and said the national transporter would monetise the dedicated freight corridors after its commissioning. Presenting the Union Budget 2021-22, Sitharaman also applauded the services provided by the Railways to transport essential goods across the country during the coronavirus lockdown.
Built by the French railway technology company Alstom, it will host a 90-metre-long digital wall for train operation, said to be the second largest in Asia.
Construction is supposed to begin in 2017, with completion slated for 2023.
India's Railways has struggled to expand to keep up with demand
Bulk goods should be transported through rail instead of roadways as it would be cost effective and environment friendly, said Pawan Kumar Bansal.
Whatever be the political coalition that comes to power at the Centre after May 16, the new government will have five ongoing projects to kick-start a sluggish economy.
Each logistics park will have a container terminal for both domestic and international operations, mineral-handling terminals, cement and fertiliser terminals, automobile terminals, storage and distribution as well as trans shipment facilities, conventional, cold storage and product-specific warehouses as well as hotels, banks, food parks and entertainment centres. Logistics companies said the multi-modal logistics parks offer a huge growth opportunity.
Govt has already approached World Bank seeking termination of contract. The progress of the project was just 20 per cent though the contract was awarded in 2016.
This is the first Budget in my memory of Budgets over the last half a century which has embraced upfront, enthusiastically and emphatically, technology, modernity and fiscal sobriety, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
The infrastructure sector received a huge facelift in the last nine years with improvement in road and railway networks, power generation and teledensity, among others, says the UPA government's report card.
In the 12-month cycle starting July 2013 and ending June 2014, World Bank had made financial commitments close to $5.2 billion in India.
The strong message from the prime minister is of continuity of policies he considers right with strong emphasis on execution, points out T N C Rajagopalan.
It will also provide support to the government for finalising the financial and implementation models.
He accused the previous governments of being sluggish on implementing railway projects and said the work of ambitious eastern and western dedicated freight corridors expedited only in the last six-seven years.
50 per cent of the flashlights market in the country is dominated by Chinese imports, which have been increasing.
Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan appealed to people to boycott products from China and also directed officials of his ministry not to procure any Chinese products for day-to-day office use while his ministerial colleague Ramdas Athawale said all restaurants and hotels that sell Chinese food in India should be closed down.
Addressing a press conference in Lucknow on Monday, he sought to emphasise that he had charted out a comprehensive development plan for the state.
On these routes, the train speed would also be increased to above 160 kmph over the next four or five years by revamping the entire signaling, tracks and fencing.
In all, 25 Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) posts, 8 MD posts and 2 Chairman posts are lying vacant, according to a written reply by Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises P Radhakrishnan in the Lok Sabha.
Since January this year, Indian exporters have begun to dread the shipping news. That's because most of it would be about another lot of shipping companies deciding to avoid Indian ports on account of delays.
Under the plan, there will be 151 private trains covering 109 routes which may entail investments worth Rs 30,000 crore.
Expect Modi to speak about internal security, terrorism, agriculture, the Triple Talaq Bill, the SC/ST Bill and, of course, the controversial NRC.
The Railway Budget has impressed industry watchers.
The government has also set targets for the next 25 years. We are working on the target of becoming a $5-10 trillion economy as well as taking exports to a record high, he said.
