New Delhi [India], March 26 (ANI): Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has directed the construction of convenient subways across the country to facilitate the easy crossing of the railway tracks, reducing the risks of accidents, the Ministry of Railways said on Thursday.

According to the Ministry, these subways can be constructed in as little as 12 hours and will be built at locations where people frequently cross tracks in their daily lives, particularly in areas where settlements lie on one side, and essential facilities such as farms, schools, crematoriums, and workplaces are located on the other.

The subways are being planned as a safer alternative, ensuring that pedestrians do not have to risk their lives while crossing railway lines.

Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasised that the design of these subways will be people-friendly, allowing individuals to carry bicycles, motorcycles, and other work-related items with ease, the Ministry of Railways said.

This is expected to benefit a large section of the population, especially in rural and semi-urban areas where such crossings are common.

The Ministry added that the initiative will prove to be a boon for a large population of the country, as it will prevent accidents due to the dangerous crossing of the railway tracks.

Earlier, Indian Railways approved a comprehensive set of projects worth approximately Rs 1,236 crore aimed at significantly upgrading its communication backbone and expanding the Kavach automatic train protection system across multiple zones, the Ministry of Railways said.

These approvals cover three separate proposals. Two are focused on optical fibre and ground wire infrastructure on Central and Western Railways, and one on the deployment of Kavach on high-utilisation routes of Southern Railway.

Central Railway Gets Upgraded Fibre Network: Rs 623.63 Crore. Two complementary works have been approved to build a robust, dual-path communication backbone across Central Railway's network, covering all five of its divisions -- Solapur, Nagpur, Pune, Bhusawal, and Mumbai.

First, a special type of composite overhead wire called OPGW (96 fibre) will be installed along the existing 25 KV electric traction lines on 2,250.68 Rkm, covering Solapur, Nagpur, Pune, and Bhusawal Divisions. This wire does two jobs at once: it acts as an earth protection wire for the traction system and also carries optical fibre for communication. Since it runs on the existing traction towers, no new civil infrastructure is needed. Cost: Rs 238.9363 Crore.

Second, underground optical fibre cables (2x48 fibre) will be laid on one side of the track over 2,673.21 Rkm across all five divisions -- Solapur, Pune, Nagpur, Bhusawal, and Mumbai. Together with the OPGW on the other side, this creates two independent fibre paths on every route, ensuring the communication network stays operational even if one path fails. Cost: Rs 384.6887 crore.

The additional fibre capacity will also be leased out as dark fibre, generating revenue for Indian Railways. Kavach Safety System Extended to 548 km on Southern Railway: Rs 310.18 Crore (ANI)