Budget 2018: Northern Railway gets Rs 90 bn for enhancing signalling system

The Northern Railway has been allocated Rs 90 billion in the railway budget 2018-2019 to modernise its entire signalling system by embracing the world's most advanced technology, officials said on Friday.

For the year 2018-2019, the outlay is Rs 5.65 billion. Additional funds will be released each year according to the requirement.

European Train Control System II or ETCS Level II technology is the most modern radio-based signalling system in the world.

Headquartered in New Delhi, the northern zone spans 6,807 kilometre in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh and the Union territories of Delhi and Chandigarh.

Rs 3.98 billion has been earmarked for replacing old mechanical signalling with electronic interlocking at 53 stations in the region.

The Northern Railway has been given Rs 100 million for providing Wi-Fi at 25 B category stations. Rs 1.54 billion from the Nirbhaya Fund has been earmarked for installing CCTV cameras in 4,038 coaches of premium trains (Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto).

Rs 3.65 billion has been set aside for video surveillance systems at 1,589 stations in the northern Region.

The zone has also been given Rs 19 billion for new lines across its network.