The Western DFC is exclusively for transporting freight at higher speeds with increased load carrying capacity. The main freight commodities include fertilizers, food grains, salt, coal, iron, steel and cement. It usesFlash Butt Weldedhead-hardened (HH) 250 m longrails with axle load capacity of 25 t on tracks and 32.5 ton bridges, compared to the existing 22.9 t to 25 t axle load used on Indian Railway tracks. The line will support freight trains reaching 1,500 m (4,900 ft) length, pulled by high-powerWAG12 electric locomotives and running at speeds greater than 100 km/h (62 mph). The tracks will be entirely grade-separated and have a generousloading gauge of 3,660 mm (12 ft1⁄8 in) width and7,100 mm (23 ft3+1⁄2 in) maximum height allowing for thedouble-stackedshipping container on flatcars to be transported, in contrast towellcars used in other countries fordouble-stack rail transport.[3] This allows for single trains to have a 400-container capacity. Trains will have radio communications and GSM-based tracking – a first in the Indian railway sector.
Meerut is proposed as the largest Logistic Hub on the EDFC due to its nodal connectivity via several expressways. The Western DFC, along with theDelhi–Mumbai Expressway, will be a vital backbone of theDelhi–Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). The Western DFC will cross the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway at 2 places inHaryana: Sancholi village (Gurgaon district) and Paroli village (Palwal district).
Jul 2020: Testing for the 352.7km Madar toPalanpur stretch was completed.[19]
Jan 2021:Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 306km route from New Rewari to New Madar and flagged off the world's first flat wagon double-stacked container train from New Ateli to New Kishangarh on 7 January.[20]
Mar 2021: The 335km long New Madar to New Palanpur section is inaugurated on 31 March.[21]
July 2021: About 60% of the Western DFC has been completed.
Aug 2021
14 Aug: DFCCIL commencesRoll-on-Roll-off (Ro-Ro) service on the Western DFC. The rake consisting of flat wagons proceeded from New Rewari and arrived at New Palanpur, covering a distance of 630km.
26 Aug: DFCCIL successfully completes a 2.75km long and 25 m high viaduct nearSohna on the Dadri-Prithla-Rewari section.[22]
May 2022: A trial run was started on the section from New Palanpur to New Mehsana on 13 May and was finished on 25 May.[23]
Jun 2022: After the trial run, the New Palanpur-New Mehsana is inaugurated and made operational by DFCCIL, which increases the corridor's length to 720km, from Dadri to Mehsana.[24]
Apr 2024: 93% of the route operational, with the 138km Sanand-Makarpura and 244km Makarpura-Gholvad sections opened, and the 110km Gholvad-JNPT section the last one under construction.[25][26]
Dec 2025: The 30 km strech from Vaitarna to new kharbao is almost finished with only electrification and signalling work remaining.
On 31 December, railway officials conducted a trial run on the freshly laid track between Vaitarna and JNPT. Project completion stands at around 91%.[27]
January 2026: While track-laying work on the stretch has been completed and earlier challenges related to land acquisition and encroachments have been resolved, commissioning has been held up due to pending signaling and overhead electrification (OHE) works. New deadline given for completion of the final leg of this project isMarch 2026.[28]
^"CCEA Approval for the DFCs"(PDF).Parivesh (Forest Ministry Clearance), Government of India. 5 March 2008.Archived(PDF) from the original on 17 September 2024. Retrieved8 April 2024.
