Indian Railways approves Rs 1,364 crore to expand Kavach, modern signalling systems

New Delhi, April 6 Indian Railways has approved multiple projects worth Rs 1,364.45 crore to strengthen safety, signalling and communication infrastructure across its network, an official statement said on Monday.

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

The indigenously-developed Kavach system protects trains against signal passing at danger (SPAD), excessive speed and collisions.

The projects that have been sanctioned in the latest round include provision of on-board Kavach equipment for 232 locomotives in Southern Railway at a cost of Rs 208.81 crore. The proposal forms part of the umbrella work for the provision of Kavach with communication backbone of long-term evolution (LTE) on balance routes of Indian Railways, with an overall cost of Rs 27,693 crore.

A sub-umbrella allocation of Rs 2,950 crore has been earmarked for Southern Railway under this programme. The present work has been proposed within this sub-umbrella and covers 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 Rs 400.86 crore for strengthening of communication backbone infrastructure. These works are part of a separate umbrella project approved at a cost of Rs 4,871 crore.

A sub-umbrella provision of Rs 871 crore has been allocated for Northern Railway for the laying fibre cables along 926.05 route km in Ambala Division, along 1,204 route km along with Optical Fiber Communication (OFC) rooms at stations in Delhi Division and along 1,074 route km in Lucknow Division.

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

Similarly, Indian Railways has sanctioned provision of optic fibre cables for Kavach over North Central Railway at a cost of Rs 176.7699 crore to support 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 Rs 578.02 crore for replacement of panel interlocking with electronic interlocking systems. A sub-umbrella allocation of Rs 1,857 crore has been earmarked for South Central Railway. Under this, two works have been approved to enhance signalling reliability, reduce manual intervention and improve safety across high-density routes.

All the sanctioned projects are part of the broader effort to modernise Indian Railways with a focus on safety, reliability and capacity enhancement. The works will support deployment of Kavach, strengthen 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, the statement added.

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