Indian Railways approves safety, infra projects to improve efficiency

Indian Railways on Saturday approved multiple infrastructure and safety projects, including the installation of the automatic train protection system, electronic interlocking, and construction of a road overbridge in various railway divisions across the country to enhance operational efficiency and passenger safety.

The indigenously developed automatic train protection system, Kavach Version 4.0, has been approved for 607.7 route kilometres of the Lucknow Division of North Eastern Railway at a total cost of ₹252 crore, a Railway Ministry press statement said.

The approved project will extend Kavach 4.0 coverage across the identified balance sections of the division, strengthening the safety infrastructure available for train operations.

 

Kavach helps prevent trains from overshooting red signals by automatically applying brakes when required and supports safer train movement by monitoring train operations.

In another significant decision, the Railway Ministry granted its consent for the installation of Electronic Interlocking (EI) at seven stations in the Solapur Division of Central Railway at a total cost of ₹209 crore.

Officials said the modern signalling system will strengthen railway signalling infrastructure across the division and facilitate the implementation of Kavach, the indigenous automatic train protection system.

They added that the ministry has also decided to upgrade the electric traction system from 1x25 kV to 2x25 kV on the 73-route-kilometre Savalyapuram-Guntur section of South Coast Railway at a total cost of ₹142 crore.

"Covering 146 track kilometres, the project will strengthen the electric traction infrastructure and enhance its capacity to support growing railway operations," the ministry said.

The fourth important decision concerned the construction of a four-lane road over bridge (ROB) in lieu of Level Crossing No. 53 at Km 62/2-4 on the Udhna-Ukai Songadh section of Western Railway, built at a total cost of ₹133.2295 crore, on a cost-sharing basis with the state government, it said.

"The construction of the four-lane ROB will facilitate smoother movement of road traffic, thereby reducing interference with railway operations," the ministry said.