Overview

• Central Railway started tests this week after inaugurating a pilot OPGW installation on September 28 at a 110 kV line near Asangaon in the Mumbai Division.
• The 96-core OPGW integrates fibre within an overhead ground wire to combine power-line protection with high-speed data transport.
• Railway use is pegged at 4–6 fibres, with the remaining capacity proposed for leasing to telecom operators, which officials say could yield up to Rs 1,000 crore.
• Officials say the communications backbone will enable faster deployment of Kavach, automatic block signalling, LTE-4G for rail operations, IP-MPLS networks, and IoT monitoring for tracks and rolling stock.
• CR cites route diversity, security of fibres and easier aerial maintenance versus underground cables, with a network-wide rollout planned if the pilot succeeds.