Automatic train protection system Kavach commissioned on 472-km route: Railways

Updating the progress work in the Western Railway Zones, the ministry said that the work on the Vadodara-Surat-Virar section on the Delhi-Mumbai route commenced in January 2023, and on 30 January 2026, Kavach was successfully commissioned on this 344-km section.

Automatic train protection system Kavach has been commissioned on 472.3 route kilometres across three sections of its network, marking another significant milestone in strengthening rail safety, the Railway Ministry said on Friday. According to the ministry, the newly commissioned sections include Vadodara-Virar (344 km) on Western Railway, Tuglakabad Junction Cabin-Palwal (35 km) on Northern Railway and Manpur-Sarmatanr (93.3 km) on East Central Railway. ''With this commissioning, the Indian Railways continues to accelerate the deployment of the indigenous Kavach system to enhance train protection, operational safety and reliability across high-density routes,'' a press statement from the ministry said. It added, ''This commissioning marks the highest-ever route kilometres of Kavach commissioned on a single day as well as in a month, with 472.3 RKm brought under Kavach Version 4.0.'' Officials said that the previous highest commissioning stood at 324 RKm on the Kota-Mathura section of West Central Railway. They added that with the latest addition, Kavach Version 4.0 has now been commissioned across five zones of the Indian Railways. ''After today's inclusion, Kavach Version 4.0 has been commissioned over a total of 1,306.3 Route Kilometres across Indian Railways,'' the statement said. Before this, Kavach Version 4.0 had been commissioned on 834 Route Kilometres. This included the Palwal-Mathura-Nagda section (633 RKm) of the Delhi-Mumbai route and the Howrah-Bardhaman section (105 RKm) of the Delhi-Howrah route. In addition, 96 Route Kilometres were commissioned on Gujarat's first Bajwa (Vadodara)-Ahmedabad section. Highlighting the progress of Kavach 4.0 implementation on the East Central Zone, the ministry maintained that train operations have also been commenced with Kavach 4.0 on the 93.3-km Manpur-Sarmatanr section of Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya division. ''The first Kavach-enabled service, Train No. 13305 Sasaram Intercity Express, operated successfully on this section, departing Sone Nagar at 07:42 hours (7.42 am) and arriving at Manpur at 9:35 hrs (9.35 am). During the run, a head-on collision test was conducted, in which the train automatically stopped, validating the system's effectiveness,'' the officials said. ''Kavach is being installed over 4,235 Route Kilometres of East Central Railway, including 417 Route Kilometres on the Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction-Manpur section, a critical part of the Delhi-Howrah trunk route passing through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand,'' they added. Updating the progress work in the Western Railway Zones, the ministry said that the work on the Vadodara-Surat-Virar section on the Delhi-Mumbai route commenced in January 2023, and on 30 January 2026, Kavach was successfully commissioned on this 344-km section. ''This historic milestone was achieved with Train No. 20907, Dadar-Bhuj Sayajinagri Express, becoming the first Kavach-equipped train to run from Mumbai,'' the statement said. It added, ''Work on the Vadodara-Nagda section is progressing at a fast pace and is expected to be commissioned by March 2026, while work on the Virar-Mumbai Central section is also progressing well and is targeted for completion by September 2026.'' According to Western Railway officials, Kavach installation on locomotives is also advancing steadily in the zone, with 364 locomotives equipped with Kavach so far.

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