Indian Railways has approved a ₹398.36 crore project to strengthen its communication infrastructure in the Western Railway zone, focusing on the Ahmedabad and Ratlam divisions.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Railways on Saturday, 4 April, the project involves the provision of a 4×48 Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) backbone to enhance digital connectivity and support the implementation of advanced safety systems.
The project has been sanctioned under the umbrella work titled “Provision of Kavach with communication backbone of Long Term Evolution (LTE) on balance routes of Indian Railways (Umbrella Work 2024-25),” which carries an overall sanctioned cost of ₹27,693 crore.
A sub-umbrella work for Western Railway has also been approved at a cost of ₹2,800 crore, under which this project has been taken up.
As part of the approved work, 2×48 fibre OFC cables will be deployed over a total of 1,929 Route Kilometres across Western Railway.
This includes 1,456 Route Kilometres in the Ahmedabad Division and 473 Route Kilometres in the Ratlam Division.
The expansion of the optical fibre network is aimed at enhancing the capacity, reliability, and efficiency of railway communication systems.
It will also facilitate modern signalling technologies, including Kavach, enabling seamless data transmission across the network.
According to the ministry, this initiative marks another step towards modernisation, safety enhancement and digital transformation of Indian Railways, ensuring improved operational efficiency and better service delivery for passengers and freight operations.
