Indian Railways Rs 398cr Project Lays 1,929km Fibre Cable for Kavach

Indian Railways has sanctioned a Rs 398.36 crore project to install optical fibre cable across 1,929 route kilometres in the Ahmedabad and Ratlam divisions of Western Railway. The infrastructure will support deployment of Kavach, the operator's automatic train protection system.

The fibre optic backbone represents a critical enabler for India's nationwide Kavach deployment, addressing the communication infrastructure gap that has delayed rollout of the collision avoidance technology. The Long Term Evolution-based network will provide the high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity essential for real-time train control and signalling data transmission. This technical foundation positions Indian Railways to accelerate safety system implementation across its 68,000km network, where automatic train protection coverage remains limited compared to European and East Asian networks.

The project involves installing 2x48 fibre optical cable across 1,456 route kilometres in Ahmedabad division and 473 route kilometres in Ratlam division. The work falls under a broader Rs 27,693 crore umbrella project for Kavach provision with LTE communication backbone across Indian Railways under the Works Programme 2024-25. Western Railway has received a dedicated Rs 2,800 crore allocation within this programme.

Kavach automatically applies brakes when signals are missed or trains approach collision scenarios. The system has gained urgency following recent train accidents that highlighted gaps in India's safety infrastructure. Indian Railways has allocated over Rs 34,000 crore in the past three years for infrastructure upgrades, with communication networks forming a cornerstone of the modernisation strategy that aims to match international safety standards while supporting the world's fourth-largest railway network by passenger volume.