In a recent Lok Sabha reply, Ashwini Vaishnav, Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics, and Information Technology, wrote about Indian Railways’ venture to undertake a mega infrastructure project to boost India’s MSME and e-commerce sectors, namely the Dedicated Freight Corridor Project (DFC). It aims to cover a total of 2843 km, subdivided into two parts, namely the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) and the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC). While the WDFC would run from Dadri to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, covering around 1506 km, on the other hand, the EDFC would stretch for 1337 km, i.e., from Ludhiana to Sonnagar.
As reports suggest, as of October 2022, 1610 km, i.e., 799 km of EDFC and 811 km of WDFC, have been completed of the total 2843 km stretch.
Another pilot project launched simultaneously is the Joint Parcel Product (JPP). It is a collaboration with Inda Post and aims to target business-to-customer (B2C) and business-to-business markets, with their major focus on the MSME and e-commerce domains. In this venture, the first and last-mile deliveries are covered by India Post, while the middle-mile delivery is taken care of by the Indian Railways.
