The Indian railways might be planning to invest as much as Rs 20,000 crore for investing the world's largest European Train Control System (ETCS) project.

The project might cover 20,000 route kilometers of the Indian Railways, which will be largest project of its kind in the world, as the current largest ETCS project in Denmark covers 4,000 route kilometers.

The ETCS project of the Indian Railways includes a signaling, control and train protection system and will be implemented over the next five years. The department is planning to float bids for the Level-2 of the ETCS systems in the next fiscal, according to sources. Major players from transportation including, Thales, Seimens and the Bombardier might bid for the project.

The ETCS Level 2, which includes a digital radio-based signal and train protection system, will display movement authority and other signal aspects in the driver's cabin. In the system, all the trains report their direction of travel as well as their current location to reporting centers frequently.

The on-board computer also monitors and tramiits data on movements and avoid the possibility of an accident. India Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi might mention the project in the upcoming Rail budget.

A high level committee headed by Dr Anil Kakodkar, which was formed in September previous year, has recommended introducing new coaches, improving signals and eliminating signal crossings to improve the safety.