India has inked a US $1,100 million IBRD Direct Lending pact with the World Bank for Phase-II of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC-II).
The EDFC-II project will help increase the capacity of these freight-only lines by raising the axle load limit from 22.9 to 25 tonne and enabling speeds of upto 100 kmph. It will also help develop the institutional capacity of the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corp of India (DFCCIL) to build and maintain the dedicated freight corridor (DFC) infrastructure network.
This project is in continuation of the EDFC-I project, presently being implemented by the DFCCIL with the World Bank loan of US $975 million on the Khurja-Kanpur stretch of the Eastern rail corridor (Ludhiana-Delhi-Kolkata), which was approved by the bank in May 2011.
Ninety per cent of the 1,245 ha land needed for the project has been acquired from 22,000 land owners with Rs 336 crore paid off as compensation, in addition to the agreed resettlement and rehabilitation benefits.
The eastern freight corridor is 1,839 km long and extends from Ludhiana to Kolkata.
More Project Info:
Eastern Freight Corridor Project