The Ministry of Railways has approved projects worth ₹1,364.45 crore to strengthen safety, signalling and communication infrastructure across multiple zones, with a focus on Kavach deployment, optical fibre networks and electronic interlocking systems.
According to a statement by the ministry on Monday, 6 April, the sanctioned works include provision of Kavach on locomotives, expansion of optical fibre cable networks and replacement of panel interlocking with electronic interlocking systems to improve operational safety and efficiency.
As part of the plan, on-board Kavach equipment will be installed on 232 locomotives in Southern Railway at a cost of ₹208.81 crore.
The work forms part of the broader umbrella project for Kavach deployment with LTE communication backbone under the Works Programme 2024-25, which has an overall cost of ₹27,693 crore.
In Northern Railway, projects worth ₹400.86 crore have been sanctioned to strengthen the communication backbone through optical fibre networks.
These include provision of 2×48 fibre cables across 926.05 Km in Ambala Division, 1,204 Km in Delhi Division along with OFC rooms at stations, and 1,074 Km in Lucknow Division.
For North Central Railway, ₹176.76 crore has been approved for laying 2×48 fibre OFC cables over 2,196 Km to support Kavach deployment.
The coverage includes 1,016 Km in Prayagraj Division, 709 Km in Jhansi Division and 471 Km in Agra Division.
In South Central Railway, works worth ₹578.02 crore have been sanctioned for replacing panel interlocking with electronic interlocking systems at 49 stations on high-density routes.
This includes 35 stations in Guntakal Division and 14 stations in Nanded Division, aimed at reducing manual intervention and enhancing signalling reliability.
The projects are part of broader umbrella works under Indian Railways’ modernisation programme, including strengthening of communication backbone infrastructure and expansion of electronic interlocking across high-density and highly utilised networks.
