Southern States - Andhra Pradesh   

Vizag-Howrah OFC link commissioned

By Our Staff Reporter

VISAKHAPATNAM DEC. 27. The longest telecom link on the Indian Railways OFC (optical fibre communication) network--between Visakhapatnam and Howrah--was commissioned here on Friday by the Union Minister of State for Railways, Bandaru Dattatraya.

The 890 km. Vizag-Howrah link, connecting the States of Andhra Pradesh, Orrisa and West Bengal, marks a major development in the OFC system first commissioned between Churchgate and Virar stations of the Western Railway in 1998 as part of a larger programme of improving the communication network on the Railways for better train operations.

Being undertaken by the specially-formed Railtel Corporation of India Ltd., the programme, besides modernising the Railways' train control, operational and safety systems and networks, is to usher in a nationwide broadband telecom and multimedia network for supplementing the national telecom infrastructure and generating the much-needed revenue by leasing extra telecom capacity for implementing Railways' development, safety enhancement and asset replacement schemes.

On completion of the OFC works, people in AP are expected to gain the advantage of continuous cellular phone while travelling in train, Internet services, computerised reservation ticket even at roadside stations, a precise and uniform on-line train information system through telephones, electronics display, Internet and public address system and affordable national and international call and video conferencing on the Railtel network.

The Managing Director of Railtel Corporation, A.K. Chopra, said that 19,000 to 20,000 route km of OFC laying was targeted to be accomplished by March next, enabling the connection of the major routes like Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Howrah, Mumbai-Howrah, Howrah-Chennai, Mumbai-Chennai, Mumbai-Secunderabad, Mumbai-Bangalore, Bangalore-Secunderabad and Delhi-Jaipur between January and May next.

Addressing a press conference later, Mr. Dattatreya said that the immediate priority of the Railways was implementing the Rs.17,000-crore special railway safety fund programme by strengthening bridges and tracks and improving signalling/telecom systems and the Rs.15,000-crore Rail Vikas Yojana for strengthening the golden quadrilateral routes.

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