Japan asks rlys to construct western freight corridor first

The Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC), has asked Rail Bhavan officials to take up the construction of the western corridor (Delhi-Mumbai) even while the railway ministry is busy conducting survey work for the eastern corridor (Delhi-Kolkata) as a part of its programme for the building of the dedicated freight corridor project.

With various industrial and export zones coming up on the western route , sources say that the Japanese agency wants to start working on this more commercially-viable route first.

In its interim report submitted to the ministry earlier this week, the agency has also said it wants to electrify this corridor, and assist in supplying electric locos too.

The Railway Ministry officials say that they would be studying the suggestions before replying to the JBIC. A senior railway official told Business Standard that since it is only an interim report, they would prefer to wait for the final report of the JBIC, which is expected by October 2007.

JBIC is the agency with which the railway ministry has been having discussions for a loan of Rs 22,000 crore for the dedicated rail freight corridor.

Once sanctioned, this loan would cover a part of the total cost of the project, which is estimated at Rs 60,000 crore.

The report has raised questions about the technology to be used and the cost of the project. It has pointed out that if the western route is electrified, the cost of setting up the western corridor may double.

Railway officials counter this by saying that they want to run diesel locomotives on both the routes, but even if the western corridor is electrified, then at the most its construction cost would go up by Rs 1,000 crore, and won't double, as is being claimed by JBIC's interim report.

The DFC project aims linking Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata with high-speed connectivity for exclusive freight movement in its first phase.

The project consists of 1,483-km Delhi-Mumbai route, also known as the western corridor and 1,280-km Delhi-Kolkata route, known as the eastern corridor. While the construction of the western corridor is estimated at Rs 16,592 crore, the cost of building the eastern corridor is estimated at Rs 11,588 crore.