New Delhi, June 30 (IANS) Indian Railways on Tuesday approved three projects with a total investment of Rs 1,131 crore which include laying an optic fibre cable across 1,700 route km across South Eastern Railway, doubling of the Mansi-Saharsa railway line in Bihar and an electronic interlocking project in the Asansol division, according to an official statement issued on Tuesday.

Indian Railways has approved the provision of the balance 48-Fibre Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) across South Eastern Railway at a cost of Rs 200 crore.

The project will provide 48-fibre OFC connectivity over 1,696.2 Route Kilometres (RKm) across four major divisions of South Eastern Railway, reinforcing the communication network that supports safe, efficient and technology-driven railway operations.

The upgraded fibre optic backbone will provide a robust, high-capacity communication network for railway operations. It will enhance the reliability and resilience of communication systems, support faster transmission of operational data, and improve coordination between stations, control offices and field units, the statement said.

In a significant boost to railway infrastructure in Bihar, Indian Railways has approved the doubling of the 44.40 km Mansi-Saharsa section of East Central Railway at a cost of Rs 499 crore. The project will augment line capacity, improve operational efficiency and cater to the growing demand for passenger and freight movement on this important route.

The Mansi-Saharsa section is presently a single-line corridor on the Mansi-Saraigarh route, handling heavy passenger and freight traffic. The section operates 24 pairs of passenger trains in each direction while also facilitating transportation of essential commodities such as wheat, maize, ballast, boiled rice, cement, fertilisers, rice, salt, sand, stone and sugar.

Indian Railways has also sanctioned a project worth Rs 432 crore for the replacement of relay-based interlocking with Electronic Interlocking (EI) at 27 stations/cabins (including 1 IBS location) on the High Density Network (HDN) and Highly Utilised Network (HUN) routes of Asansol Division of Eastern Railway.

The sanctioned work includes the replacement of 28 relay-based interlocking installations with state-of-the-art Electronic Interlocking systems, significantly enhancing the safety, reliability and operational efficiency of train operations.

The project forms part of Indian Railways’ ongoing programme for the provision of Electronic Interlocking on HDN/HUN routes where advanced signalling systems such as Kavach, Automatic Block Signalling (ABS) and Centralised Traffic Control (CTC) are being implemented.

Electronic Interlocking is a modern signalling technology that replaces ageing relay-based systems with computer-based interlocking, ensuring higher reliability, faster fault diagnosis, easier maintenance and enhanced operational flexibility. The project will further strengthen railway safety while supporting higher line capacity and more efficient train operations on one of the busiest sections of the network, the statement added.

–IANS

sps/uk