The Indian Railways has been working to implement faster transportation of goods via the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC). As of March 2025, 96.4% of the total 2,843 km Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) was commissioned, with 1,337 km of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) and 1,506 km of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) forming the total length. Now, in a first, the Indian Railways is now possibly looking for expand the usage of DFC for passenger operations.
The Indian Railways ran the Gaya-Shakur Basti Unreserved Puja Special train (03641) on the DFC, making it the first festival special train of Indian Railways to run on the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) route. “The Gaya-Shakur Basti Unreserved Puja Special train (03641) became the first festival special train of Indian Railways to run on the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) route, ensuring faster and seamless connectivity,” said the Indian Railways on X.
According to reports, the train covered a distance of 740 kms in around nine hours with an average speed of 85kmph, with a priority corridor accorded to the train.
Notably, this paves the way for passenger operations on the DFC. This will not only unburden the existing routes but will also help make trains complete their run on time.
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The Gaya-Shakur Basti Unreserved Puja Special train (03641) became the first festival special train of Indian Railways to run on the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) route, ensuring faster and seamless connectivity. #YatriSewa pic.twitter.com/NTLT6eEXXl
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) October 30, 2025
Notably, the government ran over 12,000 trips of special trains in the wake of the festive season to accommodate the Diwali and Chhath festival rush.
With the peak passenger surge expected, the Railways intensified their efforts to ensure safe and comfortable travel for all passengers ahead of Chhath Puja.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that around 10,700 reserved and 3,000 unreserved trains were deployed to manage the festive rush.
