First goods train on Shambhu-Sahnewal portion ready to hit tracks by June 10

Tribune News Service

Ambala, May 28

The first goods train on the Shambhu-Sahnewal portion of the Sahnewal-Pilkhani section of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor is set to hit the tracks by June 10.

The 175.1-km section from Sahnewal in Punjab to Pilkhani in Uttar Pradesh of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor is under the Ambala unit of the DFCCIL.

Dedicated freight corridor

The Shambhu-Sahnewal part in Punjab, covering 81.6 km is in its finishing stage, and the Kalanaur-Pilkhani part in UP, covering 16.8 km, is expected to be operational by July 10. The Shambhu-Kalanaur part in Haryana, covering 76.7 km, is expected to come into operation in August.

The Shambhu-Sahnewal part in Punjab, covering 81.6 km is in its finishing stage, and the Kalanaur-Pilkhani part in Uttar Pradesh, covering 16.8 km, is expected to come into operation by July 10. The Shambhu-Kalanaur part in Haryana, covering 76.7 km, is expected to come into operation in August.

A total of 14 new stations (seven in Haryana, six in Punjab and one in Uttar Pradesh) for the loading and unloading of goods and allowing crossings have been built.

Pankaj Gupta, chief general manager, Ambala unit, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited, said, “It is a single-line track. While the work to link tracks in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, which were carried out as Phase I and Phase II of the project, has been almost completed in Haryana except for a section of around 5 km, tracks in the rest of the areas have been laid. Testing in the Punjab area is on and the first goods train will start by June 10, while the work in Uttar Pradesh will be completed by June 25 and after testing, it will be commissioned by July 10.”

“There was a plan to complete the project by June-end, but the project got a little delayed due to unfavourable weather conditions. In Haryana, it got delayed primarily because the track crosses the defence area in Ambala and a CSD canteen was to be demolished for the project. The demolition work has begun and the work to lay the tracks is on in Ambala. Some defence land has been taken for the project and against the land, while some infrastructure, including a new CSD canteen, a children’s park and some structures have been built, a fund of Rs 127 crore is to be given to the army for which modalities are on,” he added.

The official said while the average speed of the goods trains on the main line is about 25 km per hour, on the dedicated freight corridor, the average speed in the first couple of months is expected to be 60-65 km per hour, and later it is expected to touch 75-km per hour. For the mail express and superfast trains, goods trains used to be stopped on the main line, but after the completion of the project, freight trains will be shifted to the freight corridor, and it will allow the Railways to increase the train traffic for passengers on the main line.

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