Pune, June 18 -- Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis Wednesday proposed the creation of a dedicated rail freight corridor linking Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) and the upcoming Vadhvan Port with the Samruddhi expressway (e-way), saying that the project could reduce logistics costs to just 7 to 8% and help integrate large parts of Maharashtra into global supply chains. Fadnavis said that the proposed corridor will run along the Samruddhi e-way, where land has already been reserved for a railway line, and connect major logistics and industrial centres across the state. "Maharashtra has JNPT, which handles nearly 60% of India's container traffic. We are also building Vadhvan Port, which will be three times bigger than JNPT and among the world's top 10 ports. We want to create a dedicated rail freight corridor from JNPT and Vadhvan along the Samruddhi e-way," Fadnavis said. It is proposed that the corridor will connect the dry ports at Jalna and Wardha before extending to Gadchiroli which Fadnavis described as India's emerging steel hub. "This will actually bring down the cost of logistics to seven or eight per cent, which we really want to achieve, and it will make us part of the new global supply chain," he said. According to Fadnavis, port-led development has benefitted only a limited part of Maharashtra so far. "Today, the benefits of port-led development reach only about 15% of Maharashtra. With this connectivity, nearly 75% of the state will be linked directly to our ports. Put up industry anywhere and you have dedicated port connectivity-that is our dream," he said. Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who was present at the event, welcomed the proposal and said it would significantly enhance connectivity across Maharashtra....