Indian Railways Sanctions ₹398.36 Crore Optical Fibre Backbone Project For Ahmedabad And Ratlam Divisions

Indian Railways has approved a ₹398.36 crore project to strengthen the communication backbone of Western Railway by laying optical fibre cable infrastructure across the Ahmedabad and Ratlam divisions. The project is aimed at improving digital connectivity and supporting the rollout of Kavach, India’s indigenous train collision avoidance system.

Under the approved plan, 2×48 fibre optical fibre cable will be laid over a total network length of 1,929 route kilometres. Of this, 1,456 route kilometres will fall under the Ahmedabad division, while 473 route kilometres will be covered in the Ratlam division.

The project has been cleared under the broader umbrella work for providing Kavach along with a Long Term Evolution-based communication backbone on balance routes of Indian Railways. That umbrella programme has a total sanctioned cost of ₹27,693 crore under the 2024–25 Works Programme, while a separate sub-umbrella allocation of ₹2,800 crore has been approved for Western Railway.

According to the Ministry of Railways, the new optical fibre backbone will improve the capacity, reliability and efficiency of railway communication systems. It is also expected to strengthen support for modern signalling systems, enable smoother data transmission across the network, and contribute to the ongoing modernisation, safety enhancement and digital transformation of Indian Railways.

Reference: PIB