Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu addressing the BJP Budhijeevi Sammelan at Vidyapati Bhawan in Patna on Tuesday, October 13, 2015. (Press Trust of India photo)
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has said the much talked about dedicated freight corridor (DFC) project has now been fast-tracked.
"Dedicated freight corridor (DFC) on fast track. 82K project cabinet approved. Tenders issued 17K in 6mts, more than in 6 years. Bal this fiscal," Mr Prabhu tweeted late Monday night on the micro blogging website Twitter.
"DFC will help time tabled super fast goods trains, faster passenger trains, increase rail revenue by 50%. jobs, fast economic growth, Exim biz."
Mr Prabhu retweeted on DFC: "High on speed, low on carbon: DFC will save 457.5 million ton CO2 in 30 years."
The project envisages exclusive freight rail lines along the western corridor between Delhi and Mumbai and the eastern corridor between Ludhiana and Howrah, running through Delhi.
The DFC project is an important part of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) initiative, and was launched during the UPA-I in 2006.