Indian Railways has significantly accelerated the deployment of its indigenous Automatic Train Protection system, Kavach Version 4.0, by commissioning 472 route kilometres (RKm) across three key sections of the network in a single rollout. This marks the largest commissioning of Kavach in one phase, underscoring the Railways’ push to strengthen operational safety on high-density routes.
The newly commissioned sections include the Vadodara–Virar section (about 344 km) on Western Railway, a critical part of the Delhi–Mumbai corridor; the Tughlakabad Junction Cabin–Palwal section (around 35 km) on Northern Railway; and the Manpur–Sarmatanr section (about 93 km) on East Central Railway, which lies on the busy Delhi–Howrah route.
With this addition, Kavach 4.0 coverage on Indian Railways has expanded to over 1,300 km, spanning multiple railway zones. The system has already demonstrated its effectiveness through successful trials, including automatic braking during simulated conflict scenarios.
Kavach is an indigenously developed safety system designed to prevent train collisions and overspeeding by using a combination of onboard equipment, trackside devices, radio communication and satellite-based positioning. Once operational, it automatically intervenes by applying brakes if a driver fails to respond to warnings.
Railway officials said the accelerated rollout reflects a focused effort to prioritise safety on high-traffic corridors and progressively extend Kavach to more routes in the coming months.