Railway safety system, 'Kavach 4.0' to operate on Mumbai-Delhi-Kolkata rail routes by March 2025

The Railway Minister has announced that the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, Kavach, will be operational on the 3,000-km Mumbai-Delhi and Delhi-Kolkata rail routes by March 2025. This follows the approval of the advanced Kavach version 4.0 by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) on July 17, with large-scale installation set to begin soon.

Kavach 4.0 is designed to address communication challenges across diverse geographical conditions such as hilly, forested, coastal, and desert areas.

The Railway Ministry has sanctioned the installation of Kavach on 10,000 locomotives over the next two years, with an additional 10,000 to follow in phases. Additionally, tenders will be invited for installing Kavach on the 3,300-km Mumbai-Chennai and Chennai-Kolkata routes and approximately 5,000 km of all-automatic signalling sections, with installation expected to start in October 2024.

It was also highlighted that the installation capacity has increased from 1,000 km annually to 4,000 km, with a target of reaching 5,500 km per year. This capacity enhancement will allow Kavach to be operational on new routes within three years. The system aims to prevent red-signal violations 100% of the time, enhancing railway safety by mitigating human error and ensuring reliable train operations.