Three rail safety projects laid, one maintenance shed opened, and automatic signalling switched on — all in a single afternoon at Sabarmati Railway Station, Ahmedabad. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday, 27 September 2026 inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for a clutch of Indian Railways upgrades in Gujarat, framing them as proof of the Modi government's twin drive toward self-reliance and operational safety on the national network.

In his post, Shah wrote: 'मोदी सरकार में रेल नेटवर्क का विस्तार और आधुनिकीकरण होने के साथ भारतीय रेल आत्मनिर्भरता की दिशा में भी तेजी से आगे बढ़ रही है' — 'Under the Modi government, even as the rail network expands and modernises, Indian Railways is also advancing rapidly toward self-reliance.' He inaugurated the WAG-12 locomotive maintenance shed at Sabarmati, commissioned automatic signalling on the Sabarmati–Kalol and Sabarmati–Sanand rail sections, and laid the foundation stones for three projects covering track doubling and Kavach automatic train-protection installations.

What the WAG-12 shed means for freight in Gujarat

The WAG-12 is an indigenously developed broad-gauge electric locomotive built specifically for heavy freight haulage — a direct product of the Atmanirbhar Bharat push announced in 2020, which prioritised home-grown rolling stock and rail technology. A dedicated maintenance shed at Sabarmati means these high-capacity engines can be serviced locally, reducing turnaround time and keeping freight corridors running without long diversions for repairs. Shah specifically noted that the projects would make freight movement 'smoother' and generate new employment in the region.

Automatic signalling on Sabarmati–Kalol and Sabarmati–Sanand

Automatic signalling is a force-multiplier on busy commuter and freight corridors: it shortens the headway between trains, allowing more services to run on the same track without new construction. The Sabarmati–Kalol and Sabarmati–Sanand sections serve industrial and passenger traffic around Ahmedabad, and their upgrade slots into a broader pattern of signalling investments that successive railway budgets since 2014 have funded on high-density routes across India.

Kavach foundation stones: India's collision-prevention shield moves to Gujarat

Kavach — India's indigenous Automatic Train Protection system — has been under development and field trial since roughly 2015–2020, designed as an affordable answer to the collision risks that have historically plagued the network. By laying foundation stones for Kavach installations alongside new track-doubling projects, the government is effectively baking the safety layer into fresh infrastructure rather than retrofitting it later. Shah said the combined projects would make rail operations 'safer and more efficient.' The Kavach rollout on additional routes remains the metric to watch as commissioning timelines for today's Gujarat projects take shape.

Six projects in one event, three domains — freight capacity, signalling intelligence, and collision prevention — all converging at a single station. That is the rhythm India's rail modernisation has set for itself, and Gujarat just got a measurable push forward.