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Chennai-Kolkata section to be included in second phase of freight corridor project

S. Vijay Kumar

Manmohan to launch project soon, says Velu

MADURAI: The Chennai-Kolkata and Chennai-Mumbai corridors will be included in the second phase of the Dedicated Freight Corridor Project.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will soon launch the project on the Mumbai-Ludhiana sector.

In the first phase, work will be taken up along the New Delhi-Mumbai and New Delhi-Kolkata routes.

Talking to The Hindu here on Thursday, Minister of State for Railways R. Velu said the launch date and venue would shortly be announced by the Ministry of Railways.

According to railway sources, the Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) had conducted a feasibility study on the freight corridor project and submitted a draft proposal to the Planning Commission.

Dr. Singh, as Chairman of the Infrastructure Committee, had already cleared the project along the golden quadrilateral.

"As of now, passenger and freight traffic are being operated on the same tracks. The exclusive freight corridor will not only ease congestion on the existing routes but also facilitate speedy freight movement between major ports. The freight corridor on electric traction will have state-of-the-art signalling and track maintenance system. It will provide for operation of high-haul locomotives," a senior railway official said.

Though Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, during his visit to India, had offered to invest Rs. 20,000 crore in the first phase of the project, the actual cost of the entire project would be over Rs. 60,000 crore.

"The finance borrowing modalities, method of construction, maintenance and profit-sharing are being worked out by the Special Project Vehicle (SPV), formed to implement the work," the official added.

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