5 MHz spectrum okayed for Rlys

Tribune News Service

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New Delhi, June 9

To improve safety in rail network, the government today gave its nod to allocate 5 MHz spectrum in the 700 MHz band to the Railways, which will improve the national transport monolith’s communication and signalling systems.

Announcing the decision of the Union Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said the allocation of 4G spectrum would help improve safety of passengers on the rail network in the country.

With this, the Railways has envisaged to provide LTE-based mobile train radio communication on its route. “The estimated investment in the project is more than Rs 25,000 crore. The project will be completed in the next five years,” a statement read.

The Railways currently uses optical fibre for its communication network but with the fresh spectrum allocation, it will be able to use high-speed radio on a real-time basis and would be able to augment both communication and signalling network of the railways, Javadekar said.

The Ministry of Railways said, “It brings a strategic shift in railways’ operations and maintenance regime. It will help in improving the safety and increasing the line capacity to accommodate more trains using the existing infrastructure. The modern rail network will result in reduced transportation cost and higher efficiency. Also, it will attract multinational industries to set up manufacturing units and fulfill the ‘Make in India’ mission and generate employment.”