Indian Railways fast-tracks safety with ₹1,364 cr Kavach push

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

The projects include deployment of the indigenous train protection system Kavach, expansion of optical fibre communication networks and installation of electronic interlocking at stations across multiple railway zones.

The sanctioned works aim to support wider rollout of Kavach, improve signalling reliability and strengthen communication backbone systems on high-density routes, according to a PIB release.


As part of the plan, the railways will install Kavach Version 4.0 onboard equipment on 232 locomotives in Southern Railway at a cost of ₹208.81 crore. The project forms part of the umbrella programme “Provision of Kavach with communication backbone of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) on balance routes of Indian Railways (Umbrella Work 2024–25)” with a total outlay of ₹27,693 crore.

The allocation for Southern Railway comes from a sub-umbrella provision of ₹2,950 crore under the programme. The installation is expected to strengthen the train collision avoidance system and support safer operations across the network.

The railways have also sanctioned projects worth ₹400.86 crore in Northern Railway to strengthen communication infrastructure. The works fall under the umbrella project for strengthening, repair and replacement of the communication backbone across the railway network with a total cost of ₹4,871 crore.

The approved works include installation of 2×48 fibre cables along 926.05 route kilometres in Ambala Division at a cost of ₹115.74 crore, 1,204 route kilometres in Delhi Division with optical fibre communication rooms at stations at a cost of ₹165.49 crore, and 1,074 route kilometres in Lucknow Division at a cost of ₹119.63 crore. These projects aim to enhance capacity and reliability of communication systems required for modern signalling and Kavach deployment.

In North Central Railway, the railways have sanctioned ₹176.77 crore for installation of 2×48 fibre optical fibre cables to support Kavach rollout across 2,196 route kilometres. The work will cover 1,016 kilometres in Prayagraj Division, 709 kilometres in Jhansi Division and 471 kilometres in Agra Division.

The project is part of a ₹200-crore sub-umbrella allocation for the zone and is expected to strengthen communication infrastructure across high-density routes.

Separately, the railways have approved signalling modernisation works worth ₹578.02 crore in South Central Railway. The project involves replacing panel interlocking systems with electronic interlocking at 49 stations on high-density routes.

Of the total, electronic interlocking will be installed at 35 stations in Guntakal Division at a cost of ₹426.82 crore and at 14 stations in Nanded Division at a cost of ₹151.20 crore.

The signalling upgrades are part of a ₹15,164-crore umbrella programme to install electronic interlocking at balance stations on high-density and highly utilised routes where Kavach, automatic block signalling or centralised traffic control systems have been sanctioned.

According to the Ministry of Railways, the projects are aimed at improving safety, strengthening signalling reliability and supporting capacity enhancement across the railway network. The upgrades are also expected to reduce manual intervention in train operations and improve overall operational efficiency.