New Delhi, April 6, 2026 — In a major initiative to modernize the nation’s railway infrastructure, the Indian Railways has approved multiple projects worth a staggering ₹1,364.45 crore to upgrade safety, communication, and signalling networks across multiple zones. The freshly sanctioned works will heavily focus on rolling out the indigenous anti-collision system “Kavach,” expanding the digital optical fibre network, and transitioning to electronic interlocking systems.
Expanding Kavach 4.0 Across Locomotives
A significant portion of the allocated funds is dedicated to directly boosting passenger safety through the deployment of the much-awaited Kavach technology. Indian Railways has approved the installation of on-board Kavach Version 4.0 equipment across 232 locomotives operating in the Southern Railway zone. This initiative comes with an allocation of ₹208.81 crore and is part of a larger umbrella works program focused on long-term railway safety.
Digital Overhaul: 5,300+ km of Optical Fibre
To ensure that the high-tech Kavach system functions seamlessly, the Railways is drastically overhauling its backend communication infrastructure.
Northern Railway: The government has sanctioned ₹400.86 crore for three major works in the Northern Railway zone. This will involve laying 2×48 Optical Fibre Communication (OFC) cables across more than 3,200 route kilometres, covering the Ambala, Delhi, and Lucknow divisions.
North Central Railway: An additional ₹176.76 crore has been approved to lay OFC cables across 2,196 route kilometres in the North Central Railway, covering the Prayagraj, Jhansi, and Agra divisions.
These new digital cables will replace outdated infrastructure, enhancing the reliability of communication systems critical for real-time Kavach data transmission.
Phasing Out Manual Interlocking
Alongside communication upgrades, the Railways is modernizing track management. A sum of ₹578.02 crore has been sanctioned for the South Central Railway zone to replace older panel interlocking systems with advanced Electronic Interlocking at 49 stations situated on high-density routes.
Specifically, this includes 35 stations in the Guntakal Division and 14 stations in the Nanded Division. This major shift is expected to reduce the need for manual intervention, improve operational efficiency, and significantly enhance overall track safety across busy rail corridors.