326 km Section of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor Commissioned, Completing Full Line to Mumbai Port
en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 8, the Indian government commissioned the last three key sections of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) in Vadodara, Gujarat, totaling 326 km, with a construction investment exceeding Rs 207 billion. The sections commissioned include New Sanand North–New Makarpura, New Umbergaon–New Safale, and New Safale–Jawaharlal Nehru Port. With the commissioning of these sections, the 1,506-km Western Dedicated Freight Corridor has been fully completed.
The newly commissioned sections connect the WDFC directly to Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai, enabling rail freight from the Delhi metropolitan area to reach India's major west coast container port via dedicated freight lines. On the same day, freight trains were simultaneously dispatched from four nodes: New Sanand North, New Makarpura, New Umbergaon, and New JNPT. The WDFC line extends from Dadri in Uttar Pradesh in the north to the Mumbai port area, passing through Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.
The Western Dedicated Freight Corridor was built to meet the requirements of heavy-haul, long-consist, and double-stack container transport. Technical standards published by Indian Railways show that the line has a maximum operating speed of 100 km/h, the track is operated at 25-tonne axle load with provision for upgrading to 32.5 tonnes, a single freight train can haul up to 13,000 tonnes, and double-stack container trains can be operated. The line adopts a double-track electrification system, with some sections equipped with 2×25 kV power supply, automatic signaling, and train radio communication systems.
The port-end sections completed this time had previously been an important part of the remaining WDFC works. In February 2024, 1,220 km of the 1,506-km WDFC had been completed; by the end of 2025, about 102 km of the Vaitarna–JNPT section remained under construction. After the commissioning of the final sections including New Safale–JNPT in 2026, the WDFC shifted from sectional operation to full-line operation.
The WDFC and the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor together form India's existing dedicated freight rail backbone network. The Eastern Corridor is 1,337 km long, and the Western Corridor is 1,506 km long, totaling 2,843 km. Data released by the Ministry of Railways in August 2026 show that both corridors have been completed and put into operation, with more than 443 freight trains dispatched per day on average, mainly carrying containers, coal, and bulk goods.
On the same day, the Indian government also commissioned the new Chhota Udaipur–Tanda Road railway and opened passenger train services from Tanda Road to Vadodara Pratapnagar. In addition, three railway projects were launched for construction: the third and fourth lines of Vadodara–Ratlam, the Miyagam Karjan–Choranda–Malsar gauge conversion, and the Vishwamitri–Dabhoi double line, totaling 329 km with an investment exceeding Rs 97 billion. These projects are separate railway works from the WDFC; the core new node of this dedicated freight corridor is the official commissioning of the last three sections totaling 326 km.
