By THE NEWSMAN OF INDIA.COM| The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) has taken a historic step towards making freight transportation world-class. The Managing Director of DFCCIL, Praveen Kumar, visited New Udhna, New Makarpura, New Gothangam GCT and New Ankleshwar GCT on Sunday, 22.03.2026. During the visit, he outlined a framework for multimodal logistics on the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC), aimed at enabling seamless, economical and faster freight movement across the country.

High-level meeting held at New Udhna Praveen Kumar, reviewed the progress of the East-West Dedicated Freight Corridor (EWDFC) at New Udhna. Under this ambitious project, the East-West Corridor from Dankuni (West Bengal) to Surat (Gujarat) will directly connect the eastern and western industrial hubs of the country, ensuring faster and smoother freight movement. The meeting emphasised project development, coordination among various agencies, and timely execution. He directed the teams at Raipur, Nagpur and Jalgaon to initiate detailed surveys, finalise land planning, and coordinate with state authorities and regional railway divisional headquarters to ensure timely completion of the project.

He issued clear instructions to the teams to commence survey work with immediate effect to expedite implementation of the action plan. Senior officials from the DFCCIL Corporate Office and Surat Unit were present on the occasion, including Director (Operations & Business Development) Shobhit Bhatnagar; Director (Infrastructure) Anurag Sharma; Executive Director (Infrastructure) Manish Awasthi; GGM (BD & BA) S. P. Verma; Consultant (Project Development) S. K. Negi; GM (Surat) Deepak Gupta; GM/Security (WDFC) Jitendra Srivastava; and AGM/OCC (WDFC) Praveen Tiwari.

Step towards modern infrastructure and green transport
During the visit, Praveen Kumar, inaugurated a state-of-the-art ‘Track Machine Depot’ and ‘Tower Wagon Shed’ at New Makarpura DFC station. Additionally, electric train operations were commenced at the Varnama Container Depot. This initiative is expected to significantly reduce the carbon footprint and promote a green and sustainable transport system in the country. On this occasion, he also felicitated the team with cash awards for their excellent performance.

Initiatives towards Employee Welfare
A well-designed park was also inaugurated at Makarpura for the families of employees, especially children. This initiative reflects the organisation’s commitment towards the welfare of its employees. Officials described it as an important step towards providing a better quality of life alongside the workplace.

Western Dedicated Freight Corridor: Focus on enhancing terminal capacity Praveen Kumar, inspected New Gothangam GCT (Emirates), New Ankleshwar GCT (Savariya Shakti) and Varnama Terminal (CONCOR). During the visit, he reviewed terminal connectivity and directed strengthening of seamless multimodal operations. He emphasised that GCT infrastructure should be upgraded in line with the growing demand for freight movement.

He also directed that the yard plan be finalised at the earliest in accordance with railway requirements.

Project formally launched; excellence recognised

Praveen Kumar, formally launched the EWDFC project works at the Surat office of GM/Coordination. On this occasion, the ‘OHE Maintenance Pocket Book’ was also released to facilitate smooth maintenance of railway lines, which will be highly useful for technical staff working in the field.

Subsequently, during the inspection of the New Udhna–New Makarpura section, he appreciated the high quality of the residential colony and children’s park developed by the Surat Unit.