The Indian Railways has allocated Rs 4,198 crore for signalling work in the financial year 2023-24. This highlights the railway ministry’s commitment to modernising the signalling systems in order to ensure safety and efficiency in train operations.

Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw presented comprehensive information in the Lok Sabha. In his reply to a question in the lower house, Vaishnaw said the modernisation of the signalling system has been an ongoing process and that the Indian Railways has been taking steps to stay up to date with technological advancements. An in-principle decision has been made to provide Electronic Interlocking (EI) at all installations in the furture. Ei is being adopted on a large scale, driving benefits of digital technologies in train operations and enhancing safety. As of May 31, 3,108 stations had been provided with EI. 

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He also revealed that as of May 31, 6,427 stations, amounting to 98.8% of the total stations have been equipped with Electrical/Electronic Signalling Interlocking System replacing old mechanical signalling. 

The other measures taken up the Indian Railways to modernise the Signalling system include providing Axle Counter for Automatic clearance of Block Section (BPAC- Block Proving by Axle Counter). These systems are provided to have complete arrival of the train with any manual intervention before giving a line clearance for the next train. The systems have been provided on 6,397 block sections as of May 31.

To ensure the safety at Level Crossing (LC) gates, interlocking of Level Crossing gates with Signal have been provided at 11,093 Level Crossing.

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How has the fund been distributed among the different railway zones?

Out of the total fund of Rs 4,198 crore allocated for signalling work, the highest has been given to the North Central zone (Rs 500 crore). Closely following the North Central zone is the North Western zone with an allocation of Rs 468 crore this year. The South Eastern zone has been given Rs 335 crore, while the Western zone got Rs 235 crore. The East Central zone saw an allocation of Rs 207 crore. The Southern zone’s allocation stands at Rs 382 crore.

The Indian Railways E-Procurement System (IRPES) showed that around 339 tenders for Signalling works have been invited during 2023-24 on the Indian Railway network