Indian Railways approves ₹1,364.45 crore for Kavach rollout and network-wide signalling upgrade

Indian Railways has approved multiple projects worth ₹1,364.45 crore to strengthen safety, signalling, and communication infrastructure across its network.

The sanctioned works include the provision of Kavach on locomotives, expansion of the optical fibre cable network, and replacement of panel interlocking with electronic interlocking systems across various railway zones, the Ministry of Railways said on Monday.

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Indian Railways has sanctioned the provision of on-board Kavach equipment for 232 locomotives in Southern Railway at a cost of ₹208.81 crore.

The proposal forms part of the umbrella project titled “Provision of Kavach with communication backbone of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) on balance routes of Indian Railways (Umbrella Work 2024–25)”, included in the Works Programme (Pink Book) 2024–25, with an overall cost of ₹27,693 crore under PH-33.

A sub-umbrella allocation of ₹2,950 crore has been earmarked for Southern Railway under this programme. The present work has been proposed within this allocation and covers the installation of Kavach Version 4.0 equipment on locomotives.

Indian Railways has also sanctioned three itemised works in Northern Railway at a total cost of ₹400.86 crore to strengthen communication backbone infrastructure.

These works are part of the umbrella project titled “Strengthening, Repair and Replacement of Communication Backbone over Indian Railways (Umbrella Work 2024–25)”, approved at a cost of ₹4,871 crore under PH-33.

A sub-umbrella provision of ₹871 crore has been allocated for Northern Railway. Under this, three works have been approved: provision of 2×48 fibre cables along 926.05 route km in Ambala Division at a cost of ₹115.74 crore; provision of 2×48 fibre cables along 1,204 route km, along with Optical Fibre Communication (OFC) rooms at stations in Delhi Division, at a cost of ₹165.49 crore; and provision of 2×48 fibre cables along 1,074 route km in Lucknow Division at a cost of ₹119.63 crore.

These works aim to enhance the capacity and reliability of communication systems across divisions, which are critical for modern signalling and Kavach deployment.

Indian Railways has further sanctioned the provision of 2×48 fibre OFC cables for Kavach in North Central Railway at a cost of ₹176.77 crore. This work also falls under the umbrella project for strengthening, repair, and replacement of the communication backbone across Indian Railways.

A sub-umbrella allocation of ₹200 crore has been provided for North Central Railway. The present work has been proposed under this allocation and will cover 2,196 route km, including 1,016 km in Prayagraj Division, 709 km in Jhansi Division, and 471 km in Agra Division.

The project will support the deployment of Kavach and improve communication infrastructure across high-density routes.

Indian Railways has also sanctioned two itemised works in South Central Railway at a total cost of ₹578.02 crore for the replacement of panel interlocking with electronic interlocking systems.

These works fall under the umbrella project titled “Provision of Electronic Interlocking at balance stations on HDN/HUN routes where Kavach/ABS/CTC is sanctioned (Umbrella Work 2024–25)”, approved at a cost of ₹15,164 crore under PH-33.

A sub-umbrella allocation of ₹1,857 crore has been earmarked for South Central Railway. Under this, two works have been approved: replacement of panel interlocking with electronic interlocking at 35 stations on HDN/HUN routes in Guntakal Division at a cost of ₹426.82 crore; and a similar replacement at 14 stations on HDN/HUN routes in Nanded Division at a cost of ₹151.20 crore.

These works aim to enhance signalling reliability, reduce manual intervention, and improve safety across high-density routes.

All the sanctioned projects are part of a broader effort to modernise Indian Railways, with a focus on safety, reliability, and capacity enhancement.

The works will support the deployment of Kavach, strengthen the communication backbone, and upgrade signalling systems across key routes. These interventions are expected to improve operational efficiency and ensure safer train operations across the network.