Railway Budget for 2009-10 has introduced some landmark initiatives. Announcing this in Parliament today, the Minister of Railways, Kumari Mamata Banerjee said that the Dedicated Freight Corridor project on the Western and Eastern routes is important for creating infrastructure in the country and generating employment and hence it will be known as the 'Diamond Rail Corridors' project of the Indian Railways.
The Western corridor passes through Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The Eastern Corridor will run from Ludhiana to Kolkata via Dankuni, covering the States of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
The Minister also announced that foundation is being laid for development of Eastern Industrial Corridor alongside the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor.
She said, she proposes to put railways land banks to productive use to avoid increase in cost and to help in early start of industrial projects.