RAS question
The Dedicated Freight Corridors in India connect:
Correct answer: (A) Eastern (Ludhiana-Dankuni) and Western (JNPT Mumbai-Dadri) corridors.
India's two Dedicated Freight Corridors are the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor from Ludhiana to Dankuni and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor from Dadri to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust near Mumbai.
Explanation
The Dedicated Freight Corridor question is asking for the two main freight-only rail corridors, not a general direction pattern. The Ministry of Railways' PIB release states that it was implementing two Dedicated Freight Corridors: the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor from Ludhiana to Dankuni, covering 1,856 km, and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor from Dadri to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, covering 1,504 km. This corresponds to option A's Ludhiana-Dankuni and JNPT Mumbai-Dadri pairing. The exam-relevant functional distinction is that the Eastern DFC is associated with coal traffic, the Western DFC with container traffic, and both are designed for heavy-haul, high-speed freight movement.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Coastal corridors only is wrong because the Press Information Bureau, Government of India identifies an inland Eastern DFC from Ludhiana to Dankuni and a Western DFC from Dadri to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, not a coastal-only network.
- (C) Only East-West is wrong because the implemented pair consists of the Eastern DFC and the Western DFC with distinct endpoints, not a single East-West corridor category.
- (D) Only North-South is wrong because the two implemented DFCs are Eastern and Western corridors; North-South appears separately only as a proposed DPR sub-corridor route in that release.
Concept
This tests Indian economic infrastructure and transport geography: candidates must know freight corridors by their endpoints, not just by broad directions. It recurs in RAS because DFCs link rail modernisation, port connectivity, industrial logistics and regional development.