New Delhi: Giving a boost to Railway's ambitious Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project, the World Bank on Thursday signed a 975 million USD loan agreement with the government for execution of the plan in the eastern corridor.
The financing for the project will cover 1,130 km of the 1839 km corridor which will connect Ludhiana in Punjab to Dankuni in West Bengal.
The funds will be provided in three phases and the agreement signed today will be for the first phase between Khurja and Kanpur covering 343 km, said railway sources.
The DFC proposes to help faster and more efficient movement of raw materials and finished goods between the Northern and Eastern parts of India.
The corridor will also allow Indian Railways to free up capacity from the existing train corridor and better-serve the large passenger market in this densely-populated region.
Railways have already tied up with Japanese government to fund its Western corridor linking Tughlakabad to Mumbai.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, October 27, 2011, 18:08