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system Kavach 4.0 on the Mathura-Kota section of the high density Delhi-Mumbai route. This is an important step towards the modernization of railway security systems in the country. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that the Railways has indigenously designed, developed and manufactured the Kavach Automatic Train Protection System, inspired by the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
Kavach 4.0 is a state-of-the-art technological system. It was approved by Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) in July 2024. Many developed countries took 20 to 30 years to develop and install such a train protection system. Kavach 4.0 has been installed on the Kota-Mathura section in a very short time, which is a major achievement. In the same sequence, the work of installing indigenously developed Kavach Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system on 1,441 route km of Northeast Railway has been approved by the Ministry of Railways at a cost of Rs. 492.21 crore.
Giving priority to the installation of Kavach, it has been installed at Lucknow Jn.-Manak Nagar, Lucknow Jn.-Malhaur, Barabanki Jn.-Burhwal Jn., Sitapur City-Burhwal Jn. & Burhwal Jn.-Gorakhpur Cantt. on Lucknow Division of North Eastern Railway; Gorakhpur CanttGoldinganj, Gorakhpur Cantt.-Valmikinagar Road, Bhatni Jn.-Varanasi Jn., Varanasi Jn.-Prayagraj Jn. & Aundhihar Jn.-Chhapra Jn. on Varanasi Division; and Izzatnagar
The work of armoring has been approved on Rawatpur-Farrukhabad Junction, Farrukhabad Junction-Kasganj Junction and Kasganj Junction-Mathura Junction sections of the division. In the first phase, armoring work will be done on 558 route km of Northeast Railway, which includes Sitapur City-Budhwal Junction, Budhwal Junction-Gorakhpur Cantt, Manak Nagar-Lucknow Junction-Malhaur and Barabanki-Budhwal Junction of Lucknow Division; and Gorakhpur Cantt-Goldingganj section of Varanasi Division.
The work of installing shields on this railway will be done through two tenders for tower work and shielding equipment. At present, the work of installing towers on the main route Chhapra-Barabanki is in progress and the tender for installing towers between Gorakhpur Cantt-Chhapra Rural has been given.
Advanced train protection systems of international standards were not installed in the country for 60 years after independence. Now the Kavach system has been recently commissioned to ensure the safety of trains and passengers. Indian Railways is preparing to install Kavach 4.0 on various railway routes across the country within the next 06 years. So far, more than 30,000 people have been trained on the Kavach system.
Indian Railway Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunication (IRISET) has tied up with 17 AICTE recognized engineering colleges, institutes, universities to introduce Kavach in B.Tech. curriculum. Kavach will help loco pilots: They will not have to look outside to apply brakes effectively and to see signals in low visibility conditions like fog. They will see all the information on the dashboard inside the cabin.
What is armor?
- Kavach is an indigenously developed train protection system, designed to prevent accidents by monitoring and controlling the speed of trains.
- It is designed at Safety Integrity Level 4 (SIL-4), the highest level of safety.
- The development of the armor started in 2015. It was tested for 03 years.
- After technical improvements, it was first installed in South Central Railway and got the first operation certificate in 2018
- An advanced version ‘Kavach 4.0’ was developed based on experiences in South Central Railway, which was approved in May 2025 for speeds up to 160 km/h.
- All the equipment of the armour is being manufactured indigenously.
The complexity of the armor:
- Kavach is a very complex system. Commissioning it is like setting up a telecom company. It consists of the following sub-systems.
- RFID Tags: Placed every 01 km and at every signal. These give the exact position of the train.
- Telecom Towers: Towers are installed every few kilometres with optical fibre connectivity and power supply. Loco crew and station crew continuously communicate through these towers.
- Loco shield: Receives information from RFID tags installed on the track, transmits it to telecom towers and receives radio information from station shield. It is also connected to the braking system of the loco, so that automatic braking is applied in case of emergency.
- Station Shield: Installed at every station and block section. It takes information from the loco shield and signalling system and gives instructions for safe movement.
- Optical Fibre Cable (OFC): OFC is laid along the track to connect the entire system, allowing high-speed data communication.
Signalling System: The signalling system is integrated with loco armour, station armour, telecom towers etc.
All these systems are installed, tested and certified during the movement of heavy passenger and freight trains without any disruption in rail operations.
Armor Progression:
- Optical fibre laid – 5,856 Km.
- Telecommunication towers installed – 619
- Kavach installed at stations – 708
- Armour installed on locos – 1,107
- Trackside equipment installed – 4,001 route km.
Indian Railways invests over Rs 1 lakh crore every year on safety-related activities. Kavach is one of the many initiatives that have been launched to boost safety of trains and passengers. The rapid progress and level of deployment of Kavach reflects the commitment of the Railways towards safety.
