Indian Railways has approved projects totalling Rs13,644.5 million (mn) to strengthen safety, signalling and communication infrastructure across its network. The sanctioned works cover on-board train protection, expansion of optical fibre communication and replacement of panel interlocking with electronic systems. The approvals form part of umbrella programmes under PH-33 and are intended to modernise operations on high-density routes.

Provision of Kavach on 232 locomotives in Southern Railway has been sanctioned at Rs2,088.1 mn. This work is included in the umbrella project for provision of Kavach with communication backbone of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) on balance routes and sits within the Works Programme 2024–25. A sub-umbrella allocation has been earmarked for Southern Railway and the present work covers installation of Kavach Version four point zero on locomotives.

Three itemised works in Northern Railway have been approved at a combined cost of Rs4,008.6 mn to strengthen the optical fibre communication (OFC) backbone. The projects provide two by 48 fibre cables along key divisions and include provision of OFC rooms at selected stations, with the aim of enhancing capacity and reliability for modern signalling and Kavach deployment. The approvals form part of the umbrella strengthening programme for Indian Railways.

Provision of two by 48 fibre OFC cables for Kavach over North Central Railway has been sanctioned at Rs1,767.699 mn and will cover 2,196 route km across Prayagraj, Jhansi and Agra divisions. Two electronic interlocking works in South Central Railway have been approved at a total cost of Rs5,780.2 mn to replace panel interlocking at 35 stations in Guntakal Division and 14 stations in Nanded Division, at respective costs of Rs4,268.2 mn and Rs1,512.0 mn. These interventions are expected to reduce manual intervention, improve signalling reliability and support safer, more efficient train operations across key routes.