JNPA Launches First Long-Haul Double-Stack DFC Rake
JNPA has run its first long-haul double-stack rake on the Dedicated Freight Corridor, moving 360 TEUs of import cargo roughly 422 km from the port to CONCOR's GCT Terminal in Vadodara.
News
August 25, 2026
India's Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) has achieved a major milestone in rail freight connectivity by successfully operating its first long-haul double-stack (D/S) rake on the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC). The rake departed JNPA at 1900 hrs on August 21, 2026, carrying 360 TEUs of import cargo that arrived through BMCTPL (the Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals Private Limited), operated by PSA, and was bound for CGMV — CONCOR's GCT Terminal at Varnama in Vadodara — covering approximately 422 km.
The train measured 1.3 km in length and comprised two double-stack container rakes combined into a single long-haul movement, with the leading rake carrying 1,817 tonnes and the trailing rake carrying 2,105 tonnes — a combined tonnage of 3,922 tonnes. Each rake carried 45+1 containers. The operation demonstrated the operational capability of the 1,506 km double-line electrified Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC), which connects Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra and runs exclusively for freight, enabling trains to move at higher speeds and with greater load-carrying capacity than conventional mixed-traffic lines.
The commencement of long-haul double-stack operations will enable larger cargo volumes to be transported in a single rake, improving the capacity and efficiency of rail-based freight movement. The milestone is expected to accelerate the evacuation of import containers from the port, reduce import dwell times, and enable cargo to reach inland destinations in shorter transit times — providing greater predictability to importers, exporters, and other stakeholders across the logistics chain.
JNPA currently operates five container terminals — NSFT, NSICT, NSIGT, BMCT, and APMT — along with a shallow-water berth for general cargo, liquid cargo facilities, and a coastal berth. The port authority is also developing a 277-hectare multi-product Special Economic Zone and the Vadhvan Port, an all-weather, deep-draft greenfield port in Maharashtra, which will be India's 13th major port.
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