India’s indigenous automatic train protection system “Kavach” Version 4.0 has been successfully commissioned on 1452 route kms on the high-density Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai routes after conducting extensive trials. The details are as follows:
| Route | Zone | Section where Kavach in implemented | Route km |
| Delhi-Mumbai | NR-NCR-WCR | Jn Cabin-Palwal-Mathura-Nagda | 667 |
| Delhi Mumbai | WR | Vadodara-Virar | 336 |
| Vadodara-Ahmedabad | WR | Vadodara-Ahmedabad | 96 |
| Delhi-Howrah | ECR | Gaya -Sarmatanr | 93 |
| Delhi-Howrah | ER | Chota Ambana-Bardhaman-Howrah | 260 |
Track side Kavach implementation work has been taken up on 24,427 route km covering all golden quadrilateral, golden diagonal, high density networks and other identified sections of Indian Railways (IR).
Details of progress of Kavach implementation on high density routes including Delhi– Mumbai and Delhi– Howrah corridors as on February 28, 2026 are as under:
- Laying of Optical Fibre Cable 8570 Km
- Installation of Telecom Towers 1100 nos
- Station Data Centre 767 station
- Installation of Track side equipment 6776 RKm
- Provision of Kavach in Loco 4154 nos
The sections mentioned above also includes sections which pass through states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. In addition, work for installation of Kavach in 8979 Locomotives and 1200 EMU/MEMU has been taken up.
This information was provided by the Union Minister for Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a reply to questions in Lok Sabha on March 11, 2026.
Manpower for Kavach
Specialized training programmes on Kavach are being conducted at centralized training institutes of Indian Railways to impart training to all concerned officials. As on date, over 55,000 technicians, operators and engineers have been trained on Kavach technology. This includes about 47,500 Loco Pilots & Assistant Loco Pilots. Courses have been designed in collaboration with IRISET (Indian Railways Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications).
Cost of implementation
The cost for provision of Track Side including Station equipment of Kavach is approximately Rs 50 lakh / km and cost for provision of Kavach equipment on locomotives is approximately Rs 80 lakh / loco.
The funds utilized on Kavach works so far up to Feb’26 is Rs 2,763.90 crore. The allocation of funds during the year 2025-26 is Rs 1673.19 crore.
Kavach on Eastern Railway
The project, which commenced in July 2022, achieved its final milestone with the commissioning of the Barddhaman–Chota Ambana section, following the earlier operationalization of the Howrah to Barddhaman line via the HBC (Howrah – Barddhaman Chord) route.
The Kavach infrastructure now covers 229 RKM in West Bengal and 31 RKM in Jharkhand, integrating 47 stations and 13 level crossing gates into the advanced safety network.
ER installed 7,897 RFID tags on sleepers for precise location referencing besides 60 lattice towers equipped with UHF antennas to ensure continuous radio coverage. A dedicated 520 km optical fibre cable backbone provides the communication foundation for the system.
On the rolling stock side, 118 electric locomotives, including WAP5 and WAP7 models from the Howrah and Sealdah sheds, along with an EMU, have been fitted with KAVACH equipment conforming to the latest RDSO specifications.
Kavach:
1. Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system. Kavach is a highly technology intensive system, which requires safety certification of highest order (SIL-4).
2. Kavach aids the Loco Pilot in running of trains within specified speed limits by automatic application of brakes in case Loco Pilot fails to do so and also helps the trains to run safely during inclement weather.
3. The first field trials on the passenger trains were started in February 2016. Based on the experience gained and Independent Safety Assessment of the system by Independent Safety Assessor (ISA), three firms were approved in 2018-19, for supply of Kavach Ver 3.2.
4. Kavach was adopted as National ATP system in July, 2020.
5. Implementation of Kavach System involves following Key Activities:
a. Installation of Station Kavach at each and every station, block section.
b. Installation of RFID Tags throughout the track length.
c. Installation of telecom Towers throughout the section.
d. Laying of Optical Fibre Cable along the track.
e. Provision of Loco Kavach on each and every Locomotive running on Indian Railways.
6. Based on deployment of Kavach version 3.2 on 1465 RKm on South Central Railway and experience gained, further improvements were made. Finally, Kavach specification version 4.0 was approved by RDSO on 16.07.2024.
7. Kavach version 4.0 covers all the major features required for the diverse railway network. This is a significant milestone in safety for Indian Railways. Within a short period, IR has developed, tested and started deploying Automatic Train Protection System.
8. Major improvement in Version 4.0 includes increased Location Accuracy, Improved Information of Signal Aspects in bigger yards, Station to Station Kavach interface on OFC and Direct Interface to existing Electronic Interlocking System. With these improvements,
