Procurement and technological innovations of India’s new dedicated freight railways

Indian Railways is investing INR 814.590 billion (£8.15 billion) in two new dedicated freight corridors to decongest its heavily used national railway network. Due for completion in 2022, the new 1839 km eastern corridor runs fro. DFCCIL, Delhi to Kolkata while the 1499 km western corridor, capable of carrying double-stack containers, link. DFCCIL, Delhi to Mumbai. This paper describes the procurement process and the new technologies being adopted on the project. These include the first use in India of 32.5 t axle loads, continuous welded track, twin 25 kV overhead electrification, and automatic signalling and centralised train control for 100 km/h line speeds. The project is expected to shift a significant amount of freight transport from road to rail, saving an estimated 455 Mt of carbon dioxide emissions over 30 years of operation.