Indian Railways has approved projects worth ₹1,236 crore to strengthen its communication infrastructure and expand the Kavach automatic train protection system across multiple zones, according to a statement by Ministry of Railways on Wednesday, 25 March.
The approvals cover three separate proposals, including upgrades to fibre communication networks on Central and Western Railways and the deployment of Kavach on high-traffic routes under Southern Railway.
A major component of the plan focuses on Central Railway, where projects worth ₹623.63 crore have been cleared to establish a dual-path communication network across all five divisions — Solapur, Nagpur, Pune, Bhusawal and Mumbai.
Under this, optical ground wire (OPGW) with 96 fibres will be installed along existing 25 KV electric traction lines over 2,250.68 route kilometres, covering Solapur, Nagpur, Pune, and Bhusawal Divisions.
This system will serve both as an earth protection mechanism and a communication carrier, eliminating the need for additional civil infrastructure.
In parallel, underground optical fibre cables with 2×48 fibre capacity will be laid over 2,673.21 route kilometres across all five divisions.
Together, the overhead and underground systems will create two independent communication paths, ensuring network reliability even in case of failure in one path.
The enhanced fibre capacity is also expected to generate additional revenue through leasing of dark fibre by Indian Railways.
Separately, ₹310.18 crore has been approved for the deployment of Kavach 4.0 on 548 km of high-density routes across Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.
Kavach is an indigenous automatic train protection system designed to prevent collisions by applying brakes automatically if trains are on a collision course or if signals are passed at danger.
The approved sections include Jolarpettai-Erode (180 route km) and Chennai Beach-Tambaram-Chengalpattu (60 km), along with Shoranur-Mangalore (308 km), supported by new optical fibre cabling infrastructure.
These works form part of Southern Railway’s broader sub-umbrella project valued at ₹2,950 crore.
On Western Railway, projects worth ₹302.26 crore have been cleared to complete the fibre communication backbone in Gujarat’s Rajkot and Bhavnagar divisions.
This includes laying optical fibre cables on both sides of the track over 1,653 km, covering 1,064 km in Rajkot Division and 589 km in Bhavnagar Division. The move is expected to close existing gaps in the network and enable seamless rollout of Kavach and LTE-based train control systems.
These works are part of Western Railway’s sub-umbrella project worth ₹2,800 crore.
Overall, the projects are aimed at modernising railway infrastructure through advanced communication systems and safety technologies. The integrated fibre network and Kavach expansion are expected to enhance operational efficiency, strengthen safety mechanisms and support future-ready railway operations across the country.
