Authorities Told To Fast Track Western DFC And Maharashtra Section Of Bullet Train Project To Avoid Cost And Time Overruns

Minister of State for Railways, Raosaheb Patil Danve, chaired a review meeting on the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) and Mumbai - Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) project at the headquarters of Western Railway in Mumbai.

While WDFC is being undertaken by Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), MAHSR is undertaken by National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL).

The officials have apprised the minister about various stages of progress of these vital projects, including the land acquisition process and rehabilitation of Project Affected People (PAP).

Emphasising the importance of these two projects, the minister directed authorities, including the state government officials, to expedite the work for completion of projects within the stipulated target period to avoid cost and time overruns.

Work has already begun on 325 km (in Gujarat) out of the 508 km corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

More than 97 per cent of land has been acquired for the project in Gujarat and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and 30 per cent land in Maharashtra.

DFC is one of the most significant rail infrastructure projects undertaken by the Government of India. The overall cost is pegged at Rs 81,459 crores.

In the first phase, the organisation constructs the Western DFC (1,504 Route km) and Eastern DFC (1,856 route km), spanning 3,360 route km.

The Western Corridor connecting Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) in Mumbai will traverse through the states of UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.