Freight corridor Ambala unit bags overall efficiency shield

The Ambala unit of the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) has bagged the prestigious award of Overall Efficiency Shied for the year 2024-25.

As per the railway officials, on the 20th Foundation Day Celebrations held at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi on Friday, the Ambala Unit was handed over the shield by MD DFCCIL Parveen Kumar.

Of the total nearly 2,850 km long corridor of the DFCCIL, nearly 400-km long track from Sahnewal in Punjab to New Khurja in Uttar Pradesh, a single-line freight train operation, is under the Ambala Unit with 35 stations.

Sharing the details, Pankaj Gupta, Chief General Manager Ambala Unit of DFCCIL, said “It is a matter of pride for the Ambala unit that among all 10 units across the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor and Western Dedicated Freight Corridor of DFCCIL, Ambala Unit, is judged the best performing Unit in 2024-2025. At present, a nearly 400 km long single-track freight operations and maintenance is under the unit.”

“The Ambala unit has marked some major achievements in the last one year, including the commissioning of 132 KV transmission line in 291 km from Jagadhri in Haryana to Wair in Uttar Pradesh. It will help in running more number of trains and also act as a standby source of power supply. Loop line speeds increased from 30 kmph to 50 kmph, reducing transit time of goods trains,” he added.

The CGM said the Ambala unit was operating an average of nearly 45 trains a day and the number of trains increased to 50 during the peak season of November to March. For mail express and superfast trains, goods trains used to be stopped on the main line of the Indian Railways, but after the completion of the freight corridor project, freight trains were shifted to the freight corridor, and it allowed The Railways to increase the train traffic for passengers on the main line.

Six new Vande Bharat trains were introduced along with other trains on Ambala route after the freight traffic was shifted. Initially, a 175.1-km section from Sahnewal in Punjab to Pilkhani in Uttar Pradesh of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor was under the Ambala unit of DFCCIL, but in April this year, a 220-km section from Khurja to Pilkhani of Meerut unit of the freight corridor was also brought under the Ambala unit for operations and maintenance.