Railways approves ₹1,364.45 crore for Kavach and signalling upgrades
Indian Railways on 6 April 2026 announced approval of works worth ₹1,364.45 crore, including Kavach 4.0 on 232 Southern Railway locomotives and electronic interlocking at 49 South Central Railway stations.
Summary
Indian Railways has approved projects worth ₹1,364.45 crore for safety, signalling and communication, the Ministry of Railways said on 6 April 2026. On-board Kavach Version 4.0 equipment will be fitted on 232 locomotives in Southern Railway at ₹208.81 crore, under the ₹27,693 crore umbrella work for Kavach with an LTE communication backbone. Northern Railway gets three optical fibre works worth ₹400.86 crore covering about 3,200 route km in the Ambala, Delhi and Lucknow divisions. A 2×48 fibre optical cable network over 2,196 route km in North Central Railway, costing ₹176.76 crore, will support the Kavach rollout. Electronic interlocking will replace panel interlocking at 49 stations on high-density routes in South Central Railway at ₹578.02 crore.
Key facts
- Total
- ₹1,364.45 crore
- Kavach
- Version 4.0 on 232 Southern Railway locos, ₹208.81 crore
- Umbrella work
- Kavach with LTE backbone, ₹27,693 crore
- Northern Railway
- OFC, 3,200+ route km, ₹400.86 crore
- North Central Railway
- 2×48 fibre OFC, 2,196 route km, ₹176.76 crore
- South Central Railway
- Electronic interlocking, 49 stations, ₹578.02 crore
Practice MCQs 3 questions
What is the total value of the safety, signalling and communication works approved by Indian Railways, as announced on 6 April 2026?
Show answer
Correct answer: A — ₹1,364.45 crore
The Ministry of Railways said projects worth ₹1,364.45 crore were approved. ₹2,950 crore and ₹4,871 crore are sub-umbrella and umbrella figures, and ₹27,693 crore is the Kavach umbrella work.
Which version of Kavach equipment is to be installed on 232 Southern Railway locomotives under the works approved in April 2026?
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Correct answer: B — Version 4.0
The ministry said the work covers installation of Kavach Version 4.0 equipment on 232 locomotives.
Electronic interlocking worth ₹578.02 crore is to replace panel interlocking at 49 stations in which railway zone?
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Correct answer: D — South Central Railway
The ministry said electronic interlocking at 49 stations on high-density routes is in South Central Railway.