Freight corridor body readies contracts for award.

Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), which hopes to start operations between Rewari-Palanpur and Kanpur-Khurja by 2017, has lined up civil, electrical and signalling contracts for award over the next six months (by March 2015).

The contracts include electrical and signalling and telecom works for the Kanpur-Khurja stretch as well as a civil contract for Mughalsari-Kanpur stretch - both of which will be funded by the World Bank. Other projects include an electrical contract for Rewari-Makarpura (Vadodara) and Rewari-Palanpur, and a civil contract for Vadodara-Vaitarana, which are in the Western corridor.

The projects have to be awarded within the time to meet not just the intermediate targets but also the longer term target of having the Eastern and Western dedicated freight corridor in place by 2019, official sources said.

A 50-km stretch of Sonnagar-Mughalsarai is expected to be operational in a few months, while a much larger stretch - Kanpur-Khurja and Rewari-Palanpur – are expected to be operational by 2017. These two stretches will add significant capacity to the network.


HBL