New Delhi, June 17: In a major step towards modernising signalling infrastructure and strengthening railway safety, Indian Railways has approved a Rs 405 crore signalling upgradation project on Eastern Railway involving the replacement of relay-based interlocking systems with Electronic Interlocking (EI) at 32 stations, the Ministry of Railways said on Wednesday.

The project includes 25 Panel Interlocking (PI)/Route Relay Interlocking (RRI) stations and 7 Intermediate Block Signalling (IBS) locations on High Density Network (HDN) and Highly Utilised Network (HUN) routes.

The project forms part of Indian Railways’ broader strategy to modernise signalling systems on critical routes and improve reliability, safety and operational performance across the network.

According to the official release, many of the existing signalling installations on these routes are based on older relay technology and face operational limitations due to ageing infrastructure. Issues such as non-segregation of clean and dirty wiring, outdated power supply arrangements, improper earthing systems and ageing signalling equipment have led to higher maintenance requirements and increased failure risks.

The approved project will replace these legacy systems with state-of-the-art Electronic Interlocking technology, which offers significantly higher reliability, enhanced safety and faster fault detection capabilities.

Electronic Interlocking systems use advanced digital technology to control train movements and signalling operations with greater precision and reliability. Compared to conventional relay-based systems, EI reduces the probability of signalling failures, improves system availability and facilitates quicker restoration in case of faults.

The modernised signalling infrastructure will support smoother train operations on some of the busiest railway corridors in the country while enhancing safety standards for both passenger and freight services.

The project is aligned with Indian Railways’ ongoing efforts to create a modern signalling ecosystem capable of supporting advanced technologies such as Kavach, Automatic Block Signalling and Centralised Traffic Control on high-density routes.