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Following the completion of an overhead electrified rail yard at the end of last month, APM Terminals Pipapav has become the first Indian terminal to connect to the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC). Once fully completed in early 2022, the Western DFC is expected to reduce transit times to the northwest hinterland by around 50%, offering safe, reliable, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly logistics solutions to customers.
The Western DFC is an electrified, double-track rail line covering a distance of 1504 km from JNPT, Navi Mumbai to Dadri ICD near Delhi. The first section between Palanpur and Rewari is already operational.
Once the line is fully operational in June 2022 it will help to decongest the saturated road and rail network. The DFC is also designed to have the possibility of running mixed-load trains, including road railers for roll-on roll-off cargo, as well as containers.
Innovative technology with improved safety features will enable scheduled and timetabled trains to run at higher speeds and provide increased reliability and faster connections for customers. Transit times for freight between APM Terminals Pipavav, Delhi and the National Capital Region are set to reduce from an average of 60 hours at present to just 24 hours, the company states.
In another rail first this month, APM Terminals Pipavav welcomed the first direct container train to the Jodhpur Inland Container Depot (ICD) using the electrified DFC. A recent surge in imports at Jodhpur has resulted in congestion-related backlogs at various points of the supply chain. Jakob Friis Sørensen, managing director, APM Terminals Pipavav, said, “Jodhpur is known for the best of woodcraft, handicrafts and artistic furniture, and guar gum for export. It also imports solar panels and white cement clinker. The direct service opens the doors for exporting and importing these products to and from global markets via the port of Pipavav.”
