The Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs), constructed for the exclusive passage of freight trains at high speeds, will now be used for passenger train services in times of emergency.
This step will take effect in case of natural disasters or train mishaps, with passengers being carried to their destinations through the parallel Dedicated Freight Corridor network. It is expected to help passengers on the Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai routes, two of India's busiest railway lines. Both of these rail lines run parallel to the two DFCs. The Railway Board has decided that, during emergencies, passenger trains may be allowed to travel on the Dedicated Freight Corridor network on corresponding Indian Railways lines. The Railway Board officials revealed that Eastern DFC and Western DFC are being developed solely for freight, and high-speed freight trains (100 km per hour) are often run on the lines. According to the media sources, passenger train services are not permitted on the DFC. Only in exceptional situations has the Railway Board granted authority to run passenger train services on the DFC network. According to the report, 80% of the Eastern DFC and Western DFC respectively run parallel to Delhi – Howrah and Delhi – Mumbai train routes. If conventional railway lines are disrupted, passenger train services would be able to operate on the DFC. If there is a break in the train rails for whatever reason, these key railway routes would be disrupted. This causes increased congestion and rail service diversion, affecting overall operations. Image Source
