EDFC Corridor launch: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the ‘New Bhaupur - New Khurja section’ of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) on Tuesday paving way for new vistas of opportunity for the local industries. Modi has also inaugurated EDFC’s Operation Control Centre (OCC) at Prayagraj. Governor of Uttar Pradesh Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath and Union Minister Piyush Goyal attended the inauguration through video conferencing. Also Read: Sanjay Raut's Wife Won't Appear Before ED Today; Know The PMC Bank Scam In Detail

While highlighting the increasing cost of goods because of the logistic network, the freight corridor will ensure that passenger trains don’t impact the flow of goods and freight and thereby also helps in controlling the price of goods.

The indigenous technology has been used to ensure the connectivity and ensure faster flow of freight which will pave way for industrious towns to supply goods.

The Prime Minister said the freight corridor will push investments in the state and all type of industries will benefit from this. Besides that it will also benefit kisan rail as well and increase employment opportunities. The development of railways was struck before 2014, but in the recent times several reforms have taken place in the Railways starting manufacturing its own parts, ensuring cleanliness, improving speed of the trains to enhancing the food quality. The PM also stressed that every Indian has contributed to the development of Railways, and hence each one of us has to take care of this infrastructure and Railway network.

The PM also praised Railway employees who worked tirelessly to help people during the Covid times besides generating employment opportunities.

What’s the significance of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor?

The 351 km New Bhaupur - New Khurja section of EDFC is situated in Uttar Pradesh and is built at a cost of Rs 5,750 crores. The section will help in opening open new vistas of opportunity for the local industries such as aluminium industry (Pukhrayan region of Kanpur Dehat district), dairy sector (Auraiya district), textile production/block printing (Etawah district), glassware industry (Firozabad district), pottery products (Khurja of Bulandshahr district), asafoetida or ‘hing’ production (Hathras district) and locks and hardware (Aligarh district).

The section will also decongest the existing Kanpur - Delhi main line and will enable Indian Railways to run faster trains.

“A state-of-the-art Operation Control Centre (OCC) at Prayagraj will act as the command centre for the entire route length of the EDFC. The OCC is one of the largest structures of its type globally, with modern interiors, ergonomic design and best-in-class acoustics. The building is environment-friendly with a Green Building rating of GRIHA4 and is built as per norms of the ‘Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan’,” the PMO said.

The EDFC which is envisioned over a route of 1,856 km, starts from Sahnewal near Ludhiana in Punjab and will pass through the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand to terminate at Dankuni in West Bengal.

It is being constructed by Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), that has been set up as a special purpose vehicle to build and operate Dedicated Freight Corridors.

DFCCIL is also constructing the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (1,504 route km) that connects Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai and will traverse through the states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.