World Bank okays $650m loan for Ludhiana-Kolkata corridor

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 1

The World Bank today approved $650 million towards the third loan for the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (a freight-only rail line) that will help faster and more efficient movement of raw materials and finished goods between the northern and eastern parts of India.

The Eastern Corridor is 1,840-km-long and extends from Ludhiana to Kolkata. The World Bank is supporting the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) as a series of projects in which the three sections with a total route length of 1,146 km will be delivered sequentially, but with considerable overlap in their construction schedules.

The loan approved today will build the 401-km long Ludhiana-Khurja section in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. The project will help increase the capacity of these freight-only lines by raising the axle-load limit from 22.9 to 25 tonne and enable speeds of up to 100 km/hr. It will also help develop the institutional capacity of the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL) to build and maintain the DFC infrastructure network.

“Implementing the Freight Corridor programme will provide India the opportunity to create one of the world’s largest freight operations,” said Onno Ruhl, World Bank Country Director in India.