New Delhi: Railways safety expenditure has nearly tripled over the past decade, rising from ₹39,200 crore in 2013-14 to ₹1,17,693 crore in 2025-26, as Indian Railways strengthens passenger safety alongside modernisation.
Union Minister for Railways Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw shared the figures in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on February 13. He said the sustained increase in funding has contributed to a steep decline in accidents over the years.
Safety-related spending stood at ₹87,336 crore in 2022-23 and increased further to ₹1,01,662 crore in 2023-24. It rose to ₹1,14,022 crore in 2024-25 before reaching ₹1,17,693 crore in 2025-26.
Kavach rollout across high-density corridors
Indian Railways has adopted Kavach as its national Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system. The indigenously developed technology assists loco pilots by applying brakes automatically if they fail to act within prescribed speed limits. It also enhances safety during adverse weather.
After extensive trials, Railways commissioned Kavach Version 4.0 on 1,297 route kilometres covering key sections of the Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah corridors. Moreover, trackside Kavach implementation has been taken up on 23,360 route kilometres across the Golden Quadrilateral, Golden Diagonal and High Density Network.
Progress on high-density routes includes 8,570 km of Optical Fibre Cable laid, 938 telecom towers installed, 767 station data centres set up and 5,672 route kilometres fitted with trackside equipment. Authorities have equipped 4,154 locomotives with Kavach so far.
Railways has finalised a tender to equip 6,300 electric locomotives with Version 4.0. Another tender for 2,679 diesel locomotives is under finalisation. Over 48,000 personnel, including 45,000 loco pilots and assistant loco pilots, have received specialised training.
The cost of trackside Kavach installation stands at about ₹50 lakh per kilometre, while loco equipment costs around ₹80 lakh per locomotive. Funds utilised on Kavach works up to December 2025 total ₹2,573.36 crore. The allocation for 2025-26 stands at ₹1,673.19 crore.
CCTV coverage expanded across network
In addition to Railways safety expenditure on signalling systems, authorities have expanded CCTV surveillance to enhance passenger security. Approximately 12,300 coaches, including all operational Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat trains, now have CCTV cameras.
Railways has also equipped 460 locomotives with CCTV systems. Officials expect the cameras to deter vandalism and theft, while also assisting investigations.
Overall, Railways safety expenditure reflects a comprehensive push that combines technology deployment, infrastructure upgrades and surveillance expansion to ensure safer train operations nationwide.
