DFCCIL - Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation Limited

 

         

• Updated Notes as on 03.07.2026

• DFCIIL stands for Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited

• A PSU - Public Sector Undertaking under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways. Incorporated in 2006

•  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

• DFC - Estimated Cost - Rs. 1.24 Lakhs Crores 

• Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC)

• EDFC - Ludhiana to Sonnagar — 1,337 Route Kilometres - Loan from World Bank / IBRD - International Bank for Reconstruction & Development

• Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) - Jawaharlal Nehru Port Terminal (JNPT) to Dadri — 1,506 Route Kilometres. Loan from JICA - Japan International Cooperation Agency via STEP under ODA.  - Rs. 33,000 Crores (approx)

• STEP stands for Special Terms for Economic Partnership

• ODA stands for Official Development Assistance 

• DFC (EDFC + WDFC) - Total Route KMs - 2843 Route KMs - 

• As on 19.03.2025 -  2,741 Route Kilometres, i.e., 96%, had already been commissioned and operational. 

• Operational Performance

•  In Financial Year 2024–25, DFCCIL operated 1,30,116 trains on the DFC network, a 47.5% increase over 88,225 trains in Financial Year 2023–24. 

• The daily average increased to 356 trains per day in Financial Year 2024–25 from 241 trains per day in Financial Year 2023–24, with a peak of 403 trains per day in March 2025.

• On 05.01.2026, DFCCIL handled a record 892 interchange trains in a single day between the DFC network and five Zonal Railways, improving freight movement and easing congestion on conventional Indian Railway routes. 

• Managing Director - Shri Praveen Kumar, IRSE 1989 batch (from 21st August 2024 onwards) 

Advantages: 

1. Faster Transit

2.  Higher throughput

3. Double-stack container movement

4. Higher axle-load trains

5. Better port connectivity

6. Reduced Logistics cost

7. Faster access of Northern hinterland to Western ports

8. Mineral Traffic support (EDFC) 

9. Reduced Unit Cost

10. High-capacity infrastructure

11. Industrial corridor connectivity

12. Environmental benefits 

13. Multimodal logistics support 

14.  Export competitiveness

Access charges to DFCCIL

• What is the Access charge ? 

• Indian Railways pays access charges to DFCCIL - Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited  for utilizing these corridors for freight transportation. The charges are designed to ensure cost recovery for DFCCIL while providing affordable and efficient freight services for Indian Railways. The DFCCIL is responsible for operating and maintaining the dedicated freight corridors (DFCs) in India. 

• New classification as per F2 - Finance Code Volume 2

• Erstwhile Demand No.09 (Operating Expenses - Traffic) Detailed Head 735

• Sub Major Head 07 - Major Head 3002 - Indian Railways Working Expenses - Commercial Lines

 

• Authority: RBA No.33/2024  - ACS - Advanced Correction Slip Number 11 to Finance Code Volume 2 dated 02.12.2024

Salient Features:

1. Purpose: Access charges cover infrastructure usage, maintenance, and operational costs of the dedicated freight corridors.

2. Computation Basis:

• Charges are calculated based on parameters like gross tonne kilometers (GTKMs), train path allocations, and distance covered.

• DFCCIL aligns these charges to incentivize higher utilization and efficient operations.

3. Mutual Agreement: Rates are determined through a mutual agreement between Indian Railways and DFCCIL, periodically reviewed for adjustments.

4. Revenue Sharing: The access charges also support DFCCIL's financial sustainability, enabling repayment of loans taken for DFC construction.

5. Operational Benefits: The use of DFCs reduces congestion on existing passenger rail lines, ensures faster transit for freight trains, and promotes economic efficiency.

In conclusion, these charges foster collaboration between DFCCIL and Indian Railways, facilitating the development of a robust freight transportation network.

 Key points for MCQ: 

1. DFC = Dedicated Freight Corridor

2. DFCCIL = Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited

3. EDFC = Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor

4. WDFC = Western Dedicated Freight Corridor

5. RKM = Route Kilometre

6. CAPEX = Capital Expenditure

7. JNPT = Jawaharlal Nehru Port Terminal

8. DFCCIL is under the Ministry of Railways. Incorporated in 2006

9. EDFC: Ludhiana to Sonnagar — 1,337 RKM.

10. WDFC: JNPT to Dadri — 1,506 RKM.

11. Total present EDFC + WDFC scope: 2,843 RKM.

12. 2,741 RKM, i.e., 96%, was commissioned by 19.03.2025.

13. Current MD of DFCCIL: Shri Praveen Kumar.

14. EDFC - Loan from JICA

15. JICA stands for Japan International Cooperation Agency

16. WDFC - World Bank / IBRD

17. IBRD stands for International Bank for Reconstruction & Development

Normalisation - Example

 

Normalisation – Simple Example
RRB Methodology: Percentile + Base Shift + Interpolation ✅

Railway Board authorised RRB Ajmer to adopt the normalisation methodology followed by Railway Recruitment Boards for Computer Based Tests conducted in multiple shifts. As per the RRB method, Percentile Score is used for merit, and Normalized Marks are calculated through Base Shift / interpolation.

---

Example

Exam held in 2 shifts:

Shift 1 – Tough Paper
3 candidates appeared.

Shift 2 – Easy Paper
4 candidates appeared.

Maximum marks: 100

---

Step 1: Raw Marks

Candidate	Raw Marks	Shift 1 – Tough Paper Average = 195 ÷ 3 = 65
T1	80
T2	65
T3	50

Candidate	Raw Marks	Shift 2 – Easy Paper Average = 320 ÷ 4 = 80
E1	95
E2	85
E3	75
E4	65

Since Shift 2 has a higher average ( because of easy paper), Shift 2 is taken as Base Shift in this example.

Step 2: Percentile Calculation

Formula: Percentile = Candidates scoring equal or below ÷ Total candidates in that shift × 100

                   Percentile in Tough Shift

Candidate	Raw Marks	Equal or Below	Percentile
T1	80	3	100.00000
T2	65	2	66.66667
T3	50	1	33.33333

Percentile in Easy Shift / Base Shift

Candidate	Raw Marks	Equal or Below	Percentile
E1	95	4	100.00000
E2	85	3	75.00000
E3	75	2	50.00000
E4	65	1	25.00000

Step 3: Normalized Marks

Since Easy Shift is Base Shift, its raw marks become reference marks.

Base Shift Percentile	Base Shift Marks
100.00000	95
75.00000	85
50.00000	75
25.00000	65

Now Tough Shift candidates are mapped to Base Shift.

---

T1

T1 percentile = 100.00000

Base Shift 100 percentile marks = 95

So, T1 Normalized Marks = 95

---

T2 – Interpolation

T2 percentile = 66.66667

In Base Shift:

75 percentile = 85 marks
50 percentile = 75 marks

66.66667 lies between 75 and 50.

Difference between marks = 85 − 75 = 10
Difference between percentile = 75 − 50 = 25

T2 position above 50 percentile = 66.66667 − 50 = 16.66667

Marks increase = 10 ÷ 25 × 16.66667 = 6.66667

T2 Normalized Marks = 75 + 6.66667 = 81.66667

---

T3 – Interpolation

T3 percentile = 33.33333

In Base Shift:

50 percentile = 75 marks
25 percentile = 65 marks

33.33333 lies between 50 and 25.

Difference between marks = 75 − 65 = 10
Difference between percentile = 50 − 25 = 25

T3 position above 25 percentile = 33.33333 − 25 = 8.33333

Marks increase = 10 ÷ 25 × 8.33333 = 3.33333

T3 Normalized Marks = 65 + 3.33333 = 68.33333

Final Normalised Position

Candidate	Shift	Raw Marks	Percentile	Normalized Marks
T1	Tough	80	100.00000	95.00000
E1	Easy	95	100.00000	95.00000
E2	Easy	85	75.00000	85.00000
T2	Tough	65	66.66667	81.66667
E3	Easy	75	50.00000	75.00000
T3	Tough	50	33.33333	68.33333
E4	Easy	65	25.00000	65.00000

---

Final Merit

Merit is based on Percentile Score. If the Percentile Score is the same, tie is decided by age first, and then by alphabetical order.

Merit Position	Candidate	Percentile	Remarks
1 / 2	T1	100.00000	Rank depends on age tie-break
1 / 2	E1	100.00000	Rank depends on age tie-break
3	E2	75.00000	Higher percentile
4	T2	66.66667	Next percentile
5	E3	50.00000	Next percentile
6	T3	33.33333	Next percentile
7	E4	25.00000	Lowest percentile

---

Simple Understanding

T1 got only 80 marks in tough paper.
E1 got 95 marks in easy paper.

But both are toppers in their own shifts. So:

T1 = 100 percentile
E1 = 100 percentile

After normalization also:

T1 = 95 normalized marks
E1 = 95 normalized marks

Therefore, normalisation protects candidates who faced a tougher paper.

---

Key Points for Aspirants

• Percentile is not the percentage of marks.

• Percentile shows your position in your own shift.

• The topper of each shift gets 100 percentile.

• Base Shift is selected for calculating Normalized Marks.

• If an exact percentile is not available in Base Shift, interpolation is applied.

• Final merit is based on Percentile Score.

• Same percentile means tie; rank depends on age and then alphabetical order.

Disclaimer

This normalisation example has been prepared with the assistance of ChatGPT, after taking due care to align it with the RRB normalisation methodology, including Percentile Score, Base Shift and interpolation principles.

It is intended only for simple academic understanding of aspirants. Actual normalisation, calculation, rounding, tie-breaking and merit preparation will be done strictly by the Railway Recruitment Board / competent authority as per official rules, data and software-based processing.

Aspirants are advised to refer to the official Railway Board / RRB instructions for final and authoritative guidance.

&&&

                                       MCQ Application Link

                     Study Material Application Link