The Ministry of Railways has announced the completion of a crucial section of the eastern dedicated freight corridor (DFC) in India, connecting Uttar Pradesh's Ahraura to Mughalsarai. This development is expected to significantly reduce the transportation time for thermal coal, with Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCC) Managing Director R K Jain stating that the transit for coal will now entirely be on the DFC route from Sonnagar to Dadri, eliminating the need for track switching. This achievement comes at a time when power demand has reached a record high of 220 Gigawatts (Gw), leading to increased coal demand.

By completing the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar section, the logistics time for coal transport will be reduced from 35-40 hours to just 15 hours, cutting costs and time by more than half. Mughalsarai, also known as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction (DDU), has been a congested bottleneck in Indian rail infrastructure, but the new corridor will help coal trains avoid these congested routes. This will save approximately one day and reduce the turnaround time for coal transportation.

The DFCC has also recently connected the eastern and western DFCs by completing the Dadri-Rewari stretch in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The completion of the entire corridor, including the 187-km stretch between Dadri and Ludhiana in Punjab, is expected by August. The eastern corridor will facilitate the movement of energy and industry-related raw materials, while the western corridor will serve for the transportation of industrial goods and foodgrains.

Shifting coal traffic to the freight corridor will alleviate congestion issues and improve the punctuality of passenger trains, providing relief to both freight and passenger transportation. The government is now considering funding the construction of a stretch from Sonnagar to Dankuni in West Bengal on its own, deviating from previous plans for public-private partnerships. This decision aims to enhance connectivity for thermal power plants in Punjab and facilitate the movement of foodgrains to eastern India.