Railways Minister Piyush Goyal has stressed the need for separate tracks for freight trains and compensation for freight customers in case of late arrival of goods trains.

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"It is necessary to have separate tracks for ferrying freight as well as passengers to ensure faster movement of both," Goyal said on Saturday at the 14th Foundation Day of the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corp of India (DFCCIL).

The Minister referred to the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corp (IRCTC), which pays compensation for delays in the running of Tejas Express trains.

He also said that the Indian Railways should run freight trains in convoys for maximum utilisation of railroads and increasing the average speed of freight trains.

Goyal congratulated the the DFCCIL for completing 500 km of the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) and exhorted it to achieve the goal of 991 km by March 2020.

The Minister also emphasised the need for running goods trains on DFCCIL as per a fixed time table.

DFCCIL Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav said that the Railways were working on three crucial areas -- consolidation, growth and reforms.

The DFCs are ushering in a paradigm change in the Railways and the DFCCIL will play a significant role in shaping the Indian economy in the days to come, he said.

"Indian Railways is upgrading its network, especially Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah routes to run faster and modern trains," Yadav added.

DFCCIL Managing Director Anurag Sachan assured that DFCCIL will ensuring completion of ongoing project on time.

Among those present included Manjula Rangarajan, Financial Commissioner, Railway Board; Pradeep Kumar, Member S&T; and Pinky Anand, Additional Solicitor General.

As many as 28 individual and four group awards were given away at the event.

The running shield for the Western Corridor was given to the Ajmer and Ahmedabad units jointly and to the Deendayal Upadhayaya (Mughalsarai) unit for the Eastern Corridor, an official statement said.