New Delhi: In a significant push towards modernising railway infrastructure and enhancing safety, Indian Railways has approved projects worth approximately ₹1,236 crore to strengthen its communication backbone and expand the indigenous Kavach automatic train protection system across key routes.
The approved works span across Central, Western, and Southern Railway zones, focusing on optical fibre network expansion and deployment of advanced safety technologies.
Central Railway to Get Dual Fibre Communication Backbone
The largest share of the investment—₹623.63 crore—has been allocated to upgrading the communication network across all five divisions of Central Railway: Solapur, Nagpur, Pune, Bhusawal, and Mumbai.
Two major components have been approved:
- OPGW (Optical Ground Wire) Deployment:
Installation of 96-fibre OPGW along 2,250.68 route km on existing 25 kV traction lines across Solapur, Nagpur, Pune, and Bhusawal divisions. This dual-purpose infrastructure will function both as an earth protection wire and a high-capacity communication medium.
Cost: ₹238.94 crore - Underground Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) Network:
Laying of 2×48 fibre cables over 2,673.21 route km across all five divisions, creating a redundant dual-path communication system.
Cost: ₹384.69 crore
This dual-path architecture will ensure uninterrupted communication even in case of fibre cuts or system failures. Additionally, surplus fibre capacity may be leased as “dark fibre,” creating new revenue streams.
Kavach 4.0 to Be Deployed on 548 km of High-Density Routes
As part of its safety enhancement strategy, Indian Railways will deploy Kavach Version 4.0 across 548 km of high-traffic routes in Southern Railway at a cost of ₹310.18 crore.
Kavach is an indigenously developed automatic train protection system designed to prevent collisions by automatically applying brakes in unsafe situations, such as signal passing at danger or potential head-on collisions.
The approved sections include:
- Jolarpettai–Erode (180 km) and Chennai Beach–Tambaram–Chengalpattu (60 km) under Salem and Chennai divisions, respectively
(Cost: ₹158.74 crore) - Shoranur–Mangalore (308 km) under Palakkad Division
(Cost: ₹151.44 crore)
These works form part of Southern Railway’s larger safety modernisation programme.
Western Railway to Complete Fibre Network in Gujarat
An allocation of ₹302.26 crore has been approved to complete the optical fibre communication network in Gujarat under Western Railway.
The project includes laying 2×48 fibre OFC on both sides of the track covering:
- 1,064 km in Rajkot Division
- 589 km in Bhavnagar Division
This will bridge the remaining gaps in the fibre backbone, enabling seamless implementation of advanced train control systems, including Kavach and LTE-based communication technologies.
Strengthening Digital Backbone for Future Rail Operations
A robust communication network is critical for modern railway operations, particularly for systems like Kavach that rely on real-time data exchange. These upgrades will:
- Enhance operational efficiency and reliability
- Improve train safety and collision prevention
- Enable high-speed data communication systems
- Support future technologies such as LTE-based train control
Conclusion
The ₹1,236 crore investment underscores Indian Railways’ continued focus on integrating advanced communication infrastructure with safety technologies. By strengthening fibre networks and expanding Kavach deployment, the national transporter is taking a major step towards building a safer, smarter, and future-ready railway system.
