India’s RailTel is beginning the roll-out of its first Edge data centers across the country.

Back in early 2022, RailTel announced it was seeking a partner to help it build and operate more than 100 Edge data centers at railway stations across the county.

Business Today reports that the company is now working with Techno Electric to roll out the first batch of facilities over the next few months.

Details of locations or specifications weren‘t shared.

“We should have five to ten Edge data centers by [the] end of this year. But the next year we expect the things will be – after we see the experience – will be smoother,” RailTel CMD Sanjai Kumar told investors after the company’s Q1FY25 results were announced on August 2.

Engineering firm Techno Electric is reportedly already surveying the locations to launch the services.

Formed in 2000 with the aim of modernizing India’s communication infrastructure, RailTel owns fiber along the country’s rail networks. The network runs along more than 60,000 route kilometers and covers more than 6,000 railway stations across India.

The company, owned by Indian Railways & the Ministry of Railways, has two core Tier-III certified data centers in Gurugram and Secunderabad from which it offers colocation services and its own cloud service, known as Railcloud. The two sites each offer 100 racks.

The company is also reportedly developing a 30MW facility in Noida. It has put out an RFP for a development partner.

In 2022, RailTel said capacity for each location was predicted to be around 20 ~5KW racks and occupying a land space between 300 sqm (3,200 sq ft) to 428 sqm (4,600 sq ft), though this may vary based on the availability of space, power, and other factors at individual locations.

On its website, RailTel says it has deployed a “Smart Row Solution” for Edge data centers in Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkatta, and Secunderabad. The solution offers two racks at each end; it's unclear if these facilities are related to the company’s wider Edge project.