Parliament Question: Implementation of Kavach 4.0 on South East Central Railway

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3929 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.08.2026 IMPLEMENTATION OF KAVACH 4.0 ON SOUTH EAST CENTRAL RAILWAY †3929. SHRI MAHESH KASHYAP: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has reviewed the implementation of 'Kavach 4.0, the indigenous automatic train protection system and if so, the route and railway zone in kilometres covered, tracks fitted, locomotives equipped and railway progress achieved so far, zone-wise; (b) the time-line fixed for the implementation of Kavach 4.0 during the year 2026-27 across railway zones, high-density rail corridors, heavily congested routes and critical rail sections, zone- wise; (c) whether rail routes belonging to South East Central Railway and Chhattisgarh particularly Bastar region are included therein and if so, the details thereof; and (d) whether the Government has prepared a time-bound action plan for the phased expansion of the Kavach system across the entire Railway network and if so, the details and timeline fixed therefor, phase-wise? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (d): 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). § Page 1 of 42. 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 1,465 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 Page 2 of 4Electronic Interlocking System. With these improvements, Kavach Ver.4.0. is planned for large scale deployment over Indian Railways. 9. After extensive and elaborate trials, Kavach Version 4.0 has been successfully commissioned on 2,633 Route Kilometres as on 31.07.26, covering the high density Delhi- Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah routes as below: SN Section Progress (Route Km) (1) Delhi-Mumbai route: 1,423 Rkm i Tilak Bridge - Junction cabin – Palwal – 1,327 Mathura –Kota-Nagda-Ratlam–Vadodara- Virar section ii Vadodara – Ahmedabad section 96 (2) Delhi – Howrah route: 1,210 Rkm i Chipyana - Tundla - Kanpur - Subedarganj 563 section ii Kanpur – Lucknow section 71 iii Mirzapur - DDU (Excluding) section 64 iv DDU(FOC)-Bhabua Road section 50 v Sasaram - Phesar section 43 vi Gaya -Sarmatarn- Nimiaghat section 159 vii Chota Ambana - Bardhaman – Howrah 260 section Page 3 of 410. In addition, track side Kavach implementation work has been taken up on 21,794 RKM covering all GQ,GD,HDN and identified sections of Indian Railways including 2405 Rkm passing through SECR covering Bhanupratappu - Tadoki section passing through Bastar district (43 Rkm) of Chhattisgarh. 11. The total Progress of key items of Kavach on Indian Railway sections are as under:- SN Item Progress i Laying of Optical Fibre Cable 11,547 Km ii Installation of Telecom Towers 1,721 Nos. iii Station Data Centre 1,009 station iv Installation of Track side equipment 7,726 RKm v Provision of Kavach in Loco 6,290 Nos. 12. In addition, work for installation of Kavach in 7,190 Locomotives and 1,200 EMU/MEMU has been taken up. 13. Specialized training programmes on Kavach are being conducted at centralized training institutes of Indian Railways to impart training to all concerned officials. By now more than 94,000 technicians, operators and engineers have been trained on Kavach technology. This includes about 57,000 Loco Pilots & Assistant Loco Pilots. Courses have been designed in collaboration with IRISET. 14. The funds utilized on Kavach works so far up to Jun'26 is Rs. 3,875 Crores. The allocation of funds during the year 2026-27 is Rs. 2,066 Crores. Kavach work is going at good pace in the entire country including South East Central Railway. Requisite funds are made available as per the progress of works. ***** Page 4 of 4