Indian Railways clears 3 projects worth ₹1,131 crore for fibre, Bihar line doubling, Asansol signalling
Synopsis
Indian Railways cleared three projects worth ₹1,131 crore in a single day — a fibre backbone across 1,696 km of South Eastern Railway, a long-pending line doubling in Bihar's busy Mansi-Saharsa corridor, and a Kavach-linked signalling overhaul in Asansol. The eastern rail corridor is the clear focus, and the scale of investment signals that capacity and safety upgrades are accelerating.
Key Takeaways
Indian Railways approved 3 projects worth ₹1,131 crore on 30 June . ₹200 crore sanctioned for 48-fibre OFC across 1,696.2 RKm of South Eastern Railway . ₹499 crore approved for doubling the 44.40 km Mansi-Saharsa section of East Central Railway in Bihar ; route currently handles 24 pairs of passenger trains daily. ₹432 crore sanctioned to replace relay-based interlocking with Electronic Interlocking at 27 stations/cabins in Asansol Division of Eastern Railway .
The Asansol upgrade is part of the broader Kavach , ABS , and CTC rollout on high-density routes.
Indian Railways on Tuesday, 30 June approved three infrastructure projects with a combined outlay of ₹1,131 crore, covering optical fibre connectivity across South Eastern Railway, doubling of the Mansi-Saharsa rail section in Bihar, and a signalling upgrade in the Asansol Division of Eastern Railway. The approvals were confirmed through an official statement issued on the same day.
Optical Fibre Network Across South Eastern Railway
Indian Railways has sanctioned ₹200 crore for laying a 48-fibre Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) across 1,696.2 Route Kilometres (RKm) spanning four major divisions of South Eastern Railway. The project fills a connectivity gap in the existing fibre backbone, providing high-capacity communication links across the network.
According to the official statement, the upgraded OFC infrastructure will support faster transmission of operational data, improve coordination between stations, control offices, and field units, and enhance the overall reliability of communication systems. The move is part of Indian Railways' broader push toward technology-driven, safer rail operations.
Mansi-Saharsa Line Doubling in Bihar
The largest of the three approvals — worth ₹499 crore — covers the doubling of the 44.40 km Mansi-Saharsa section under East Central Railway. The corridor is currently a single-line route on the Mansi-Saraigarh stretch, and presently handles 24 pairs of passenger trains in each direction daily.
Beyond passenger traffic, the section is a critical freight artery, facilitating movement of essential commodities including wheat, maize, cement, fertilisers, rice, salt, sugar, and sand. Doubling the line is expected to augment capacity, reduce congestion, and improve punctuality on one of Bihar's busier rail corridors. This comes amid sustained pressure on Eastern and East Central Railway zones to expand capacity as freight and passenger volumes continue to grow.
Electronic Interlocking Upgrade in Asansol Division
Indian Railways has also cleared a ₹432 crore project to replace relay-based interlocking systems with Electronic Interlocking (EI) at 27 stations and cabins — including one Intermediate Block Signalling (IBS) location — on the High Density Network (HDN) and Highly Utilised Network (HUN) routes of the Asansol Division of Eastern Railway.
Electronic Interlocking replaces ageing relay-based systems with computer-based controls, enabling faster fault diagnosis, easier maintenance, and greater operational flexibility. Notably, the Asansol Division is among the busiest sections on the Indian Railways network, and the upgrade aligns with the ongoing rollout of advanced signalling technologies including Kavach, Automatic Block Signalling (ABS), and Centralised Traffic Control (CTC) on HDN and HUN corridors.
Broader Significance
Taken together, the three approvals reflect Indian Railways' continued capital push across safety, capacity, and digital infrastructure. The Asansol EI project in particular reinforces the network's Kavach integration drive, which has gained urgency following high-profile rail accidents in recent years. With Bihar's Mansi-Saharsa doubling and the South Eastern Railway fibre upgrade, the approvals also signal a focus on the eastern rail corridor — a region that carries disproportionately high freight and passenger loads relative to its infrastructure base. Further project timelines and implementation schedules are expected to be detailed by the respective zonal railways.
Point of View
East Central Railway in Bihar, and the Asansol Division of Eastern Railway — which has historically been underfunded relative to the freight and passenger load it bears. The Asansol Electronic Interlocking project is the most consequential of the three: it is not a standalone safety measure but a building block for Kavach deployment, and its pace will partly determine how quickly India's collision-avoidance system scales on its busiest routes. The Mansi-Saharsa doubling is overdue; a single-line corridor handling 24 daily train pairs in each direction is a capacity bottleneck by any standard. The fibre project, while less visible, is foundational — without a reliable OFC backbone, real-time signalling and data systems cannot function. The combined approval signals intent, but execution timelines and land acquisition progress on the Bihar doubling will be the real tests.
NationPress
30 Jun 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the three projects approved by Indian Railways worth ₹1,131 crore?
Indian Railways approved a ₹200 crore optical fibre cable project across 1,696.2 km of South Eastern Railway, a ₹499 crore line-doubling of the 44.40 km Mansi-Saharsa section in Bihar, and a ₹432 crore Electronic Interlocking upgrade at 27 stations in the Asansol Division of Eastern Railway. The combined outlay is ₹1,131 crore.
How will the Mansi-Saharsa line doubling benefit Bihar?
The doubling of the 44.40 km Mansi-Saharsa corridor will augment line capacity on a currently single-track route that handles 24 pairs of passenger trains daily and carries essential freight including wheat, cement, fertilisers, and sugar. It is expected to reduce congestion and improve punctuality on one of Bihar's busier rail routes.
What is Electronic Interlocking and why is it being installed in Asansol?
Electronic Interlocking is a computer-based signalling system that replaces older relay-based installations, offering faster fault diagnosis, easier maintenance, and higher reliability. The Asansol Division project covers 27 stations and cabins on high-density routes where advanced systems like Kavach and Automatic Block Signalling are also being deployed.
What is the significance of the optical fibre cable project for South Eastern Railway?
The ₹200 crore OFC project will provide 48-fibre connectivity across 1,696.2 route kilometres spanning four divisions of South Eastern Railway, strengthening the communication backbone that underpins safe and efficient train operations. It supports faster data transmission and better coordination between stations, control offices, and field units.
How do these approvals fit into Indian Railways' broader infrastructure push?
The three projects are part of Indian Railways' ongoing capital investment drive focused on safety, capacity expansion, and digital upgrades. The Asansol signalling project specifically links to the national Kavach rollout, while the Bihar line doubling addresses long-standing capacity constraints on the eastern corridor.
