PM inaugurates 351-km dedicated freight corridor in UP, hits out at previous govts
The 351 km Khurja – Bhaupur section in the Eastern DFC, Uttar Pradesh, is built at a cost of Rs 5,750 crores.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated on Tuesday the 351-km New Bhaupur-New Khurja section of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) and Operation Control Centre (OCC) in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj via video conferencing.
Speaking at the inauguration, the PM also accused the previous governments of delaying the dedicated freight corridor project and ignoring modernisation of railways.
“Our past experiences tell us that the infrastructure projects related to the country’s development should be kept out of politics. The country’s infrastructure is not tied to any party’s ideology. It is not meant for five years, but a mission to benefit the people of the country.”
The prime minister further stressed that this project was the living example of the work culture of his government, as the freight project was given permission in 2006 but the then government lacked the “seriousness and urgency” with which it had to take it up with the states. However, he added, “till 2014, not a single km track of the project was laid and the funds sanctioned could not be spent properly. After 2014 ,it was restarted and officials asked to take it forward and by then the budget had gone up by 11 times”.
The 351 km Khurja – Bhaupur section in the Eastern DFC, Uttar Pradesh, is built at a cost of Rs 5,750 crores.
The new stations in this section are Bhaupur, Kanchausi, Achalda, Ekdil, Bhadan, Makhanpur, Tundla, Hathras, Daudkan & Khurja. Some of the important Industrial Areas that straddle this section are Aligarh, Khurja, Firozabad and Agra, railway ministry said.
“The Dedicated Freight Corridor shall reform the transportation sector and will create more capacity on trunk routes of Indian Railways as goods trains shall be able to ply freely on Dedicated Freight Corridor without any restrictions imposed by movement of passenger trains,” the ministry said on Tuesday.
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