New Delhi, March 26 (IANS) Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday directed officials to prepare a nationwide plan to construct subways near railway tracks, especially around settlement areas, to improve safety and prevent accidents.

The move aims to reduce accidents and provide safer crossing options for residents living near railway lines.

According to the Railway Ministry, the plan is to cover all settlement areas located near railway tracks across the country within the next five to six years. Officials have been asked to design these subways in a way that encourages people to use them comfortably. The minister also emphasized that the structures should be built to avoid waterlogging during the rainy season, a common issue that often discourages usage.

The ministry added that these subways will be constructed in a manner that minimises disruption to train services, with installations planned to be completed within a short time frame of around 12 hours of traffic block.

Alongside safety infrastructure, Vaishnaw also reviewed the progress of Kavach, the indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection system of Indian Railways. The meeting focused on speeding up its deployment and using advanced technology to improve train operations.

Indian Railways has introduced several upgrades in Kavach, including a Universal Braking Algorithm that standardizes braking systems across different manufacturers. Improvements in software, use of artificial intelligence in design, and better integration with locomotives and signalling systems are helping make the system more reliable.

A centralized monitoring platform called SURAKSHA is also being developed to enable real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance of Kavach installations.

So far, Kavach has been installed on over 3,100 route kilometres, while work is ongoing across more than 24,000 route kilometres, including busy corridors. Key routes such as Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah have already seen significant progress, with further expansion underway. The system has also been installed on thousands of locomotives, with more in progress, as Indian Railways continues to strengthen safety and efficiency across its network.

--IANS

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