India’s Western Dedicated Freight Corridor: 326 km Gujarat section inaugurated in September 2026

Direct fact

In September 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a 326 km section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor in Vadodara, Gujarat, and said the project had been planned in 2004 and sped up after 2014.

Key specifics

• The inaugurated freight-rail stretch covers 326 km and links parts of Gujarat, including Sanand (North), Makarpura, New Ambarkan, New Safale and Safale–JNPT.
• Modi said the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor was first defined in 2004 and a special company was set up in 2006.
• He stated that by 2026, 2,800 km of freight corridors had been laid and 430 freight trains were operating on the eastern and western corridors.
• According to the speech, a freight train now covers 100 km in 3.15 hours, compared with 6.5 hours earlier.
• The Mumbai–Vadodara route was cited as a double-stack freight line that can carry the load of 250 trucks at one time.

Exam lens

Question type: infrastructure and transport match-the-following; key facts: Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, 326 km, 2004 planning, 2006 special company, 2,800 km completed, 430 trains. TNPSC one-liner: identify the corridor, year of conception, and the operational efficiency gain in freight movement.