Ahmedabad, Mar 11 (PTI) The operations control centre of the 1,506 km-long Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate on Tuesday is a first-of-its-kind initiative in India to monitor and regulate train operations from one centralised location, experts said.
Built at a cost of Rs 280 crore in Ahmedabad, the operations control centre (OCC) houses the latest train controlling and monitoring mechanism, which can track the movements of all freight trains along the route starting from Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to JNPT in Gujarat.
At present, the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) is operational from Dadri to Sanand in Gujarat. Around 200 freight trains operate every day at an average speed of about 60 km, according to DFC officials.
“It is a big moment for the country as well as for the operation of freight trains in India. This control room is the nerve centre and from here everything can be tracked in real time,” an expert associated with the DFC said.
He added, “Our train controllers sitting here can see the positions of trains anywhere along the route and issue instructions accordingly. Track conditions, signal fault, overhead wires issues and the efficiency of the loco pilot everything can be reviewed in real time and take corrective measures.” According to railway officials, a similar OCC has also been built for the 1,337 km-long Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor.
Both the eastern and western DFCs have transformed the freight train operations in India as they are made for freight operations only, they said.
“It is for the first time in India that freight trains are running here as fast as premier passenger trains such as Rajdhani and Vande Bharat. Freight trains achieve an average speed of around 22 km per hour on passenger train routes as passenger trains are given priority,” an official said.
The prime minister will also inaugurate the 401-km new Khurja Junction-Sanehwal section of the EDFC and the 224-km new Makarpura Junction-Gholvad section of the WDFC.
“The WDFC is operational from Dadri to Sanand (N) and the section between Sanand and New Makarpura is under progress,” the official said.
The last section from New Gholvad to JNPT is also under progress,” the official said, adding that Sanand (N) and New Makarpura will be ready within a month, paving the way for direct train operations from Dadri to Gholvad. According to experts, the DFCs will significantly help in decongestion of the routes and benefit passenger train operations. This will lead to improvement in safety and efficiency of passenger train services, they said. PTI JP SKY SKY
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