Prof. Kenmai Tsubota, University of Toyo and Institute of Development Economics, Chiba, Tokyo

Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs) shall transform the existing logistics networks in India, which can boost economic growth. It is also expected that DFCs can cause modal shifts from road transportation to railways, which can contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions.

We built an economic geography model of the Spatial General Equilibrium Model called the Geographical Simulation Model. The model is based on Spatial Economics featured by urbanization, economic clustering, and transportation costs. It is equipped with a modal choice among road, rail, ship, and air.

We conducted three scenarios for 2040: 1) West DFC, 2) East DFC, and 3) All DFCs. We compare these results with the baseline scenario where DFCs are not completed and completed.

There are large impacts both in economic and environmental terms. With DFCs, better connectivity shall enhance economic activities and modal shifts from trucks to railways. In both terms, we find synergy effects of two DFCs, where the impacts of both DFCs are larger than the sum of each DFC. Even with the increases in freight volumes and production, overall impacts for CO2 emissions may be lower.