DFCCIL - Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited

 

DFC - Dedicated Freight Corridor - A Game changer

Source: DFCCIL

 DFC Video Link

Hqrs: New Delhi

2006 October - Incorporation of DFCCIL (Schedule”A”) Government Company, as SPV – Special Purpose Vehicle, is a wholly owned company of the Ministry of Railways registered under Company Act 1956. 

·         ·         Estimated Project Cost - Rs. 82,000 Crores (Approx)

·    The Eastern & western dedicated freight corridors entail an investment of 12 billion dollars,

·         Eastern Corridor - World Bank Loan of 1.86 Billion dollars (Rs. 13000 Crores)

·         Western Corridor - JICA (Japanese International Cooperation Agency) loan of 5.2 Billion Dollars (Rs. 37000 Crores)

·         The balance between Project Cost and Loan is borne by Govt of India through Equity.

Need of DFC

·         Eastern  Corridor  ( EDFC ) from Ludhiana ( Punjab ) to Dankuni (Near Kolkata)

·         Western Corridor (WDFC) from Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mumbai to Dadri 

near Delhi.

·         The Delhi-Mumbai rail route and the Delhi –Howrah rail route are highly congested at present.

·          IR has lost a significant portion of its Freight business to the Road sector and has planned to recover the market share through DFC.

 

Beginning:

·          Golden quadrilateral connecting 4 Metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata and its  diagonals  1. Delhi to Chennai and 2. Mumbai to Kolkata – Total route length of 10,000 Kms –

 

            Share of Golden quadrilateral at present

Route	Passenger traffic	Freight traffic
16 %	52 %	58 %

• Not only this, the National highways along these corridors comprising 0.5% of the road network carried almost 40% of the road freight.

·         Line capacity varying between 120 % to 150 % in Eastern Corridor (Delhi to Kolkata) and in Western Corridor (Delhi to Mumbai) – Highly saturated

·          IR lost its share in freight traffic from 83 % in 1950-51 to 30 % in 2018-19

·         To meet the growth of Indian Economy in recent decades and to garner the share of Freight transport, the Govt mooted the conception of Dedicated Freight Corridors

·         Beginning step in the above direction is the Presentation of Railway Budget in 2005-06.

·         2006 – A SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) named Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India limited was incorporated as a company under the Companies Act, 1956/2013.

Mission:

·         To build a Corridor with appropriate technology

·         To regain market share of Freight transport

·         To set up Multimodal logistic parks along the DFC to provide complete solution to customers

·         To adopt the Railways as the most environmental friendly transport mode 

Salient Features

·         Chairman : De facto Chairman, Railway Board

·         Hqrs: New Delhi

·         Total route length : 3360 kms

·         Western Corridor  : 1504 Kms  From Dadri (UP) to JNPT -Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (Mumbai)

·         Eastern Corridor    : 1856 Kms From Ludhiana(Punjab) to Dankuni (West Bengal)

·         The Railway’s share expected to go up from the present level 30 % to 45% in the Total transport sector

·         It is exclusively for Freight trains.  So it should be possible to run time-tabled trains with guaranteed transit time.

·         Last mile connectivity – by tying up with truck operators. So that offered door to door services to the Customers.

·         Setting up of Multimodal logistics parks along the Corridor to facilitate all kinds of value addition from packaging. Retailing, labelling, pelletizing etc.

·         Design-Build Lump-sum Contract strategy – Construction of DFC. Being a design build contract bidder is supposed to quote lump-sum contract price for the total work including design, construction, testing, commissioning and liability during defect liability period. It is akin to EPC  Projects. Click for Article on EPC in the blog.

·         Western corridor will cater double stack containers on electrified traction, which is first in the world

·         RO-RO – Roll On Roll Off traffic – Western Corridor  - to attract non-bulk traffic particularly at short lead to avoid cost of transhipment

Latest update on May 2022

• To be completed by June 2023 (90 % of DFC). That is 2750 RKM (Route Kilo Meters) of the Eastern DFC and Western DFC.  

• The initial plan was to make both DFCs operational by June 2022-end, but the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent slowing down of work at sites have resulted in the deadlines being pushed ahead.

 

• Once completed, Coal, Food grain, and Export-Import Freight movement are expected to get a boost. 

 

• Managing Director of DFCCIL - Shri Ravindra Kumar Jain 

 

• Presently - 100 trains running on WDFC and 60 trains on EDFC.  Once completed the entire project, it may increase to 150 trains and 100 trains respectively.  

  

• The biggest gain is that the freight movement from ports in Gujarat to New Delhi has been cut down by a day.  

• EDFC  - 1875 RKM  From Ludhiana (Punjab) to Dankuni (West Bengal) covering Punjab, Haryana, UP, Bihar, and Jharkhand, West Bengal. 

 

• WDFC - 1506 RKM.  From Dadri (UP) to Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Mumbai) covering UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. 

 

• Average speed - EDFC - 65 km per hour

 

• Average speed - WDFC - 41 km per hour 

• Estimated Cost - 1,24,000 Crores. 

 

• Cumulative CAPEX (up to 31.03.2022) - Rs. 89,342 Cr 

Key points for MCQ

1. DFCCIL stands for Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited

2. Western DFC - From Dadri (UP) to JN Port (Mumbai) 

3. EDFC - From Ludhiana (Punjab) to Dankuni (West Bengal) 

4. WDFC - 1506 RKM

5. EDFC - 1875 RKM

6. RKM stands for Route Kilo Meters 

7. DFCCIL Hqrs - New Delhi

8. Total Cost - Rs. 1,24,000 Crores 

Relationship with Indian Railways:

·         Concessioner is Indian Railways and Concessionaire is DFCCIL

·         Period is 30 years (from commencement of operations)

·         Accept freight trains on its track on payment of user charge called TAC – Track Access Charge by Indian Railways and other Private Train operators.

·         Land will be acquired by IR under Railway Amendment Act, 2008 and leased to DFCCIL

·         Financing the Project: Loan from External bilateral/ Multilateral funds recd via Ministry of Railways and equity contribution from the Ministry of Railways.

·         Main source of Revenue to DFCCIL is TAC – Track Access Charge

·         TAC consists of Fixed and Variable components. Variable component based on volume of traffic in terms of 000 GTKMs

·         Cost of construction of Double Line electrified Track – Rs. 18  Crores Per KM (in IR , it is Rs.12 Crores per KM).  The reasons for increasing cost are

 

A.      Electric traction of 2 x25 KV, 58hz single phase AC

B.      Double line automatic signaling

C.      Standard of loading of 32.5 Tonnes Axle Load

D.      Will have grade separation from IR. Existing lines in the form of flyovers to ensure free flow of trains on both the systems.

Advantages:

1.       Bring about a paradigm shift in Freight operations

2.       Reduction in the unit cost of transportation.

3.       Higher speeds

4.       Better turnaround of Wagons

5.       Act as Catalyst for the Development of Industry and Areas along the Corridor.

6.       Increased payload to tare ratio (by higher axle load wagons)

7.       Improved SEC - Specific Energy Consumption

8.       Ultimate objective is to reduce the O & M Costs (Operation & Maintenance)

9. DFC will save more than 450 million ton of CO2 in first 30 years of operation.

 

·         Coming up Freight Corridors are

 

. 

*****

 

 

OCC - Operation Control Centre 

WDFC 

• At Ahmedabad 

• Operationalised in March 2023 

• Controls entire WDFC’s Train operations, Signalling, and Power Supply and monitor the health of Rolling Stock & Track Safety. 

• It is equipped with advanced technologies and new applications for Train operations. 

• SCADA - Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition operations 

• TPC - Traction Power Controller operations will be done from the OCC 

•  Nerve-centre of WDFC - 1506 KMs - Double Track Electrified 2 x 25 KV From Mumbai JNPT (Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust) to Dadri via Vadodara, Ahmedabad & Rewari, covering the States of Haryana, UP, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. 

• Green Building

• Serve the Round-the-Clock 

EDFC

• Going to be a launch 

• OCC - for EDFC - Prayagraj, UP - World’s Second Largest OCC  

• Command Centre for the entire route length of 1856 KMs of EDFC 

• Green Building rating of GRIHA4 - equipped with Solar power and rainwater harvesting 

• 1560 Sq Meter with a video wall of more than 90 metres. 

•  The Divyang-friendly one 

• Modern interiors, Best-in-class acoustics, ergonomically designed to suit the needs of the Traffic Controllers 

• Integrated SCADA with TMS (Train Management System) - will enable the Traction Controllers to monitor, control as well as remotely operate power supply equipment at Traction Sub Stations, Sectioning and Parallelling posts for the Entire Network. 

•  Under the Make in India or Atma Nirbhar initiative, the system has been developed by Alstom, and supported by their design teams in Bangalore. 

• EDFC - 1875 KMs - Two distinct segments: 

• Double Track - 1409 KMs - Dankuni to Khurja 

• Single Track - 447 KMs - Khurja to Dadri   

              DFCCIL Network 

State	WDFC	EDFC	Total	% Share
UP	19	1078	1097	32
Rajasthan	567	-	567	16
Gujarat	565	-	565	16
Haryana	177	72	249	7
Bihar	-	239	239	7
West Bengal	-	203	203	7
Jharkhand	-	195	195	6
Maharashtra	178	-	178	6
Punjab	-	88	88	3
Total	1506	1875	3381	100

Key Points for MCQ  

1. DFCCIL stands for Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited

2. OCC stands for Operations Control Centre 

3. OCC - WDFC - Ahmedabad

4. OCC - EDFC - Prayagraj 

5. OCC at Prayagraj - going to be launch - World’s Second Largest one

6. OCC at Ahmedabad - Operationalised in March 2023 

7. SCADA stands for Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition  

8. DFCCIL - 3381 KMs

9. WDFC - 1506 KMs 

10. EDFC - 1875 KMs  

11. UP covers - Highest Network of DFCCIL - 32 % 

12.  DFCCIL - Incorporated - in 2006 -  as a Schedule A Company under the Companies Act, 1956 

MCQ on DFCCIL

1. Headquarters of DFCCIL 

Answer 1: Mumbai

Answer 2: Kolkata

Answer 3: New Delhi

Answer 4: Bangalore

2. DFCCIL is a ______ 

Answer 1: Registered Company

Answer 2: Government Organisation

Answer 3: Private company

Answer 4: subsidiary of World Bank

3. Target for completion of Dedicated Freight Corridor 

Answer 1: 2022 December

Answer 2: 2021 December

Answer 3: 2023 June

Answer 4: 2024 December

4. Estimated project cost (approx) of DFC 

Answer 1: 1.24 lakh crore

Answer 2: 2.24 lakh crore

Answer 3: 3.24 lakh crore

Answer 4: 4.24 lakh crore

5. DFC project cost financed by _________ 

Answer 1: World Bank & LIC

Answer 2: JICA & LIC

Answer 3: World Bank and JICA

Answer 4: World Bank, JICA & Asian Development Bank

6. IR lost its share in freight traffic from ___ in 1950-51 to ____in 2018-19 

Answer 1: 83 % , 30 %

Answer 2: 95 % , 55 %

Answer 3: 83 % , 53 %

Answer 4: 63 % , 30 %

7. TAC stands for _______ (DFCCIL) 

Answer 1: Travelling Access Charge

Answer 2: Track Access Component

Answer 3: Track Access Charge

Answer 4: Track Activation Charge

8. DFCCIL established in the year 

Answer 1: 2006

Answer 2: 2016

Answer 3: 2010

Answer 4: 2012

9. Chairman of DFCCIL is 

Answer 1: Prime minister

Answer 2: Railway Minister

Answer 3: Member/Finance

Answer 4: CEO & Chairman, Railway Board

10. Dedicated Freight Corridor is meant for 

Answer 1: Passenger trains and Freight Trains

Answer 2: Exclusive for Freight Trains

Answer 3: Exclusive for Passenger Trains

Answer 4: Priority for Freight Trains. But can allow Passenger Trains

Answers;

1.  3

2.  1

3.  3

4.  1

5.  4

6.  1

7.  3

8.   1

9.  4

10.  2

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Video Lesson on Operating Ratio

CONCOR - RAILWAY PSU

CONCOR  - CONTAINER CORPORATION OF INDIA

·         A Navaratna CPSE under the Ministry of Railways (granted the status in the last year 2014-15). It is the first Navaratna CPSE (Central Public Sector Enterprise )of Indian Railways.

·         Incorporated in the year 1988 and commenced operations in the year 1989.

·         Headquarters is in New Delhi.

·         Present Chairman & Managing Director: Shri Sanjay Swarup, IRTS 1990 batch officer 

·         Started with the existing 7 ICDs (Inland Container Depot) taking over from Indian Railways in the year 1989.  Now it has a network of 61 ICDs (Inland Container Depot)/CFSs (Container Freight Station)

·         Indian Railways first ICD is at Bangalore in the year 1981.

·         Operates three core businesses 1) Cargo carrier 2) Terminal Operator 3) Warehouse Operator

·         Plans for setting up of 15 MMLPs – Multi Modal Logistic Parks during 12^th Five year plan for providing seamless connectivity and one stop solution for customers.

·         Cargo handled during the year 2021-22 is 40.73 Lakhs TEUs- TEU means Twenty foot Equivalent Unit.

·         Profit after tax is Rs.1062 Crores during the year 2021-22.  It is listed in the NSE & BSE. 55% shares owned by promoter group i.e., Indian Railways.  Rest of the 45 % shares owned by the Public

·         Pioneer/Developer of containerization in the world- Malcolm McLean He was an American transport entrepreneur who developed the modern shipping container which revolutionized transport and international trade in the second half of the twentieth century. 

·         Containerization led to a significant reduction in the cost of freight transportation by eliminating the process of transportation by lorry to the port, unloaded into a warehouse and then reloaded into the ship 'piece by piece' and also improved reliability, reduced cargo theft, and cut inventory costs by shortening transit time. 

·         CONCOR  - Monopoly in the Container business in India, though 15 private players entered in this segment  to

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Reservations in Recruitment and promotions

 

                    Reservations in Recruitment and promotions

By Shri JC Nagaraja Rao, Dy.CPO (Retd)

1. Articles 16 (4), 335, 341 and 342 of the Constitution of India provide for reservations in services in favor of SC, ST and other Socially and Economically backward classes.

2. Article 16 (6) was inserted in the constitution through 103 amendment for providing reservation in favor of economically weaker sections w.e.f 14.01.2019.

3.  Article 16 (4A) provides for reservation in the matter of promotions in favor of SC & STs.

4.  In recruitment reservation is provided for SC, ST, OBC, EWS, PwBD, Ex-servicemen. 

5. In promotions reservation is provided for SC, ST & PwBD only.

6. SC is from either Hindu or Sikh or Buddhist religion. 

7. ST can be of any religion.

8. OBCs will be from the list of castes prepared by the Central Govt.

9. EWS are those who are not eligible for SC,ST & OBC reservation. 

10. The total reservation for all categories should not exceed 50% in each cadre. Cadre means grade/Level. For example Jr Clerks, Sr Clerks, OS & Ch OS are four separate cadres for the purpose of reservations in clerical cadres. 

11. Necessary certificate from competent authority in prescribed form should be submitted to avail reservation. (District Magistrate/District Collector/Revenue Officers not below the rank of Tahsildar & Medical Board)

12. The verification of SC/ST certificates should be done within three months from the date of appointment.

13. Suitable departmental and criminal action will be taken for submission of fake certificates.

14. In recruitment reservation for SC, ST and OBC is 15%, 7.5% and 27% respectively.

15.  In promotions reservation for SC and ST is 15% and 7.5% respectively. No reservation for OBC in promotions.

16. Reservation is post based. Not on vacancy bases.

Example for Post Based Reservation:

Sanctioned posts = 100

Reservation for SC = 100 x 15% =             15

Reservation for ST = 100 x 7.5% = 7.5 ( ie 8 )

Reservation for OBC = 100 x 27% =          27

Total reservation = 50 (15+8+27)

Un-reserved posts = 50

Available SC employees on roll = 10 

Available ST employees on roll = 5

Available OBC employees on roll = 20

Available UR = 40

Total available on roll = 75 (10+5+20+40)

Vacancies = 25 (100-75)

SC   requirement = 15 -10 =  5

ST   requirement =    8- 5   = 3

OBC requirement = 27-20 = 7

UR requirement =    50 -40 = 10

Category wise requirement = 5+3+7+10 = 25

           

Note: Un-reserved vacancies means ‘No reservation’ for these posts. They are filled on merit or on seniority. Anybody ie SC / ST /OBC / UR who is in merit or is senior can be appointed against unreserved vacancies.

17. In direct recruitment, the reserved category candidates who are selected on the same standard as applied to General Candidates will not be adjusted against reserved vacancies.

18.  Only when he/she avails the relaxations in age limit, experience, qualification, permitted number of chances etc will be adjusted against reserved vacancies.

19. In Railway Group-A vacancies are filled by Direct Recruitment through UPSC and by promoting Group-B Officers.

20. Group-B vacancies are filled by promoting Group-C employees through departmental selection. ( 70% promotional Quota & 30% LDCE Quota)

21. Group-C vacancies are filled through Direct Recruitment (through RRB and RRC) and by giving promotion within Group-C ( Selection, General selection, LDCE, GDCE, Trade Test etc)       

22. Separate rosters registers should be maintained for DR, Promotion, LDCE and GDCE.  

23. Reservation rules are not applicable to postings on deputation. 

24. No reservation for single post cadre. The vacancy should be filled by seniority or merit as the case may be.

25. The unfilled posts of SC/ST/OBC should not be de-reserved i.e should not be converted to UR.

26. Such posts should be carried forward to next recruitment year. The same rule applies to promotions also.

27. However, posts can be exchanged between SC and ST if the vacancy could not be filled due to non-availability of candidates of that particular community ( ie SC or ST) in the third recruitment year. 

28. At any given point of time , the rule of maximum 50% quota should be followed on the cadre as a whole and not on the basis of individual recruitment where it may happen that all posts may fall to the share of either SC or ST or OBC due to carry forward rule for unfilled vacancies.

29. Candidates appointed on compassionate grounds should be shown against the appropriate roster point as per his community i.e SC against SC, ST against ST, OBC against OBC and UR against UR.

30. Candidates who are appointed against Sports/Cultural/Scouts & Guides quota should not be shown against SC/ST/OBC reservation points because their selection for appointment is purely on merit in their respective fields.

31. Employees who are rendered surplus and absorbed in alternative posts should be shown against the appropriate roster points as per his community i.e. SC against SC, ST against ST, and UR against UR. If there is no SC/ST point vacant, such surplus staff should be booked against UR point because we should not keep the surplus staff waiting for an alternative appointment for want of SC/ST vacancy.

32. Reservation in recruitment and promotion shall be as per roster. This roster is post based. Not vacancy based. 

33. In the Post Based Roster (BPR)  system, if a vacancy arises in the cadre due to Transfer/Promotion/Retirement/Death etc of SC/ST/OBC employee, that vacancy should be filled only by SC/ST/OBC candidate/employee respectively.

34. The PBR system is applicable in promotions from Group-C to Group-B, within Group-B and Group-B to Group-A. 

35. Reservation for OBC in recruitment:

All OBCs are not eligible for reservation.

Only those coming under Creamy Layer Category in OBC are eligible. 

Candidates whose family annual income is not more than Rs 8 Lakhs come under Creamy Layer category.

The certificate shall be from the local revenue authority not less than Tahasildar.

Age relaxation 3 years.

36. Reservation for Ex-servicemen in recruitment:

10% in Group-C posts & 20% in erstwhile Group-D (Level-1) posts are reserved for them.

Should have put in 15 years service in Army/Air force/ Navy and has passed Army Class-I certificate or equivalent. 

Age relaxation: 15 years.

37. Reservation for PH candidates in recruitment and promotions:

According to Right of persons with disabilities Act 2016, 4% reservation in recruitments and promotions should be provided to physically handicapped persons who are suffering from the following:

1. Blindness and low vision

2. Deaf and hard hearing

3. Locomotors disability (including cerebral palsy, Leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy).

4. Autism intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness.

5. Multiple disabilities from among (a) to (d) above including deaf and blindness

Note: The minimum disability should be 40%.

Distribution of 4% reservation is as under:

For category (a) above – 1%

For Category (b) above – 1%

For Category (c ) above- 1%

For categories (d) & (e) above – 1%

Railways can exempt any post/cadre from the above reservations for PwD candidates.

Necessary Certificate from competent Medical Board constituted by Central/State Govt should be obtained and produced.

Age relaxation is 10 years . 

38. Reservation for Economically Weaker Section candidates:

EWS reservation is only for General category candidates (i.e Those not eligible for reservation under SC/ST/OBC communities.)

10% reservation in Un-reserved vacancies.

No age relaxation.

EWS certificate from State Revenue Authorities not lesser than Tahasildar.

Gross annual income of a family is not more than 8 Lakh rupees in a financial year.

Family shall not own 5 acres of agricultural land and above, Residential flat of 1000 Sq ft and above, Residential plot of 100 Sq Yards and above in areas notified municipalities and Residential plot of 200 Sq Yards and above in areas other than notified municipalities. 

39. Reservation for Course Completed Act Apprentice:

20% of vacancies in Level-1 posts (Erstwhile Group-D posts in GP 1800/-)

Should have undergone training in Railway Establishments and 

Should have a National Apprentice Certificate issued by National Council of Vocational Training (NCVT). 

40. Reservation for Minorities:

4.5% of OBC vacancies are to be filled by Minorities. 

To avail the benefit of reservation, the person should be belonging to Minority Community as defined in Section 2 ( C ) of the National Commission for Minorities Act 1992 and his caste/community should have been included in the notified list of OBCs. 

 

41. Vertical and Horizontal Reservation:

Vertical Reservation means reservation for  SC/ST/OBC(NCL)/UR.

Horizontal Reservation means reservation for  PH/EWS/Ex-servicemen/CCAA.

42. UR = UR(merit) +PH(merit) +EWS((merit) + Ex-servicemen(merit)

SC = SC + PH(SC) + Ex-Servicemen (SC)

ST = ST + PH (ST) + Ex-Servicemen (ST)

OBC = OBC + Minority (OBC) + PH (OBC)  + Ex-servicemen(OBC)

 

                                                     *****

Counter Offer

Counter Offer

(Most important short notes question for General expenditure paper)

In simple  terms

·         'A' makes an offer to sell his car to 'B' at a price of Rs.3 lakhs.  B gives acceptance conditionally saying that he wants to purchase that car at Rs.2.5 lakhs.  This conditional acceptance is not valid, hence there is no contract.  This is nothing but, B's counter offer to A.

·         That means conditional  acceptance or partial acceptance is none other than called as Counter Offer.

In Railways

·          In cases where the overall value of L-1 is reasonably good, but the rates(s) for certain item(s) in a schedule happen to be higher than those quoted by other tenderers in the same tender or higher than the last accepted rates,

·          the method of counter offering the lower rates(s) obtained in the same tender considered reasonable by Tender Committee may be adopted while finalizing the tender.

*****

MCQ Test on Parliamentary Control over Railway Finances

 Please attempt the following MCQ test through CBT mode

 

Test:- Parliamentary control over Railway Finances  - 40 MCQs

(Applicable for all Depts incl: Accounts) 

Schedule : 8 PM of 03.11.2023 to 11 PM of 04.11.2023 

Duration: 30 minutes only. 

Negative marks - Minus 1/3rd Marks for every incorrect answer

Timer ⌛ option enabled

No inquiries please 

Click the link below  

Click here for MCQ Test on Parliamentaary Control over Railway Finances 

Note - Don't post your result or Screen shots to my WhatsApp please

All the best 👍