India’s Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) network has achieved 96.4 per cent commissioning, according to the Economic Survey 2025-26.
The Survey stated that the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors together account for 96.4 per cent commissioning of the total planned DFC network, marking substantial progress in the rollout of exclusive freight rail corridors.
“About 2,741 km (96.4 per cent) of the 2,843 km DFC network has been commissioned as of October 2025, with the Eastern DFC (1,337 km) fully completed and 1,404 km of the 1,506 km Western DFC completed,” the report said.
The DFCs have been developed as separate freight-only rail lines, designed to segregate freight traffic from the mixed-use passenger network.
The commissioning of most sections of the DFC network has enabled a significant shift of freight traffic away from passenger-dominated routes.
The Survey notes that this separation is intended to reduce congestion on existing rail lines and improve the utilisation of the broader rail network.
The report also highlighted the Economic Rail Corridors being implemented under the PM GatiShakti initiative.
“Three corridor programmes – Energy, Mineral & Cement; Port Connectivity; and High Traffic Density routes – are being implemented to strengthen multimodal connectivity and logistics efficiency,” the Survey said.
According to the report, 434 projects with an outlay of ₹11.17 lakh crore have been identified under the three corridors and mapped on the PM GatiShakti portal.
“Of these, 122 projects covering 12,150 km have been sanctioned, and 198 projects spanning 19,779 km are under different stages of appraisal,” the report added.
