Indian Railways is expanding multitracking on its seven High-Density Networks (HDNs) to reduce congestion, improve freight movement and lower logistics costs.
Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs): Eastern DFC:Ludhiana (Punjab)–Sonnagar (Bihar); primarily coal and mineral traffic. || Western DFC: Connects the western ports, including JNPT/Mumbai, Pipavav, Mundra and Kandla, with northern freight destinations.
Both are operational and together handle about 420 freight trains/day.
Proposed East–West DFC:Dankuni (West Bengal)–Surat (Gujarat), 1,738 km.
Other proposed corridors: East Coast: Kharagpur–Vijayawada; North–South: Itarsi–Vijayawada via Nagpur.
Dedicated Freight Corridors are specialised railway routes primarily designed for freight trains, allowing freight to be separated from congested passenger routes.
The National Rail Plan aims to increase railways' role in freight transport and address capacity constraints on major railway routes.
