The Minister of Railways, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu has said that the Dedicated Freight Corridor project, the largest infrastructure project in the country, is gaining momentum. Presenting the Railway Budget 2016-17 in Parliament today, he said it is proposed to take up the following freight corridors: North-South connecting Delhi to Chennai, East-West connecting Kharagpur to Mumbai & East Coast connecting Kharagpur to Vijayawada. He said, it is proposed to put these three projects on high priority to ensure structuring, award and implementation in a time-bound manner through innovative financing mechanisms including PPP. He said that before this financial year closes, almost all the contracts for civil engineering works would have been awarded. He said, since he assumed office, contracts worth Rs. 24,000 crore have been awarded against Rs 13,000 crore worth of contracts in the last 6 years.

The Minister said, given the emphasis on rapid expansion of freight business, it is essential to build more dedicated freight corridors for increased traffic with consequent benefits for the economy and environment.

Source Ministry of Railways 25-February, 2016