New Delhi, March 23: Indian Railways has successfully commissioned the indigenous Kavach Automatic Train Protection system on the Prayagraj–Kanpur section of the busy Delhi–Howrah corridor, marking a major step towards safer and faster train operations, the Ministry of Railways said on Monday.
The Kavach system was activated on the 190 route kilometre stretch between Prayagraj and Kanpur.
The system was implemented using Train No. 14163, while the General Manager also carried out a footplate inspection from Subedarganj to Manauri station to review its performance.
Senior railway officials, including divisional and headquarters officers, were present during the commissioning, which is seen as an important milestone in improving safety and enabling higher train speeds of up to 160 kmph on one of the country’s busiest rail routes.
In the first phase, Kavach will be operational on eight pairs of trains, including services like the Chauri Chaura Express and several long-distance trains. More trains, including Vande Bharat services, will be gradually added in the coming months.
Before commissioning, Indian Railways carried out extensive trials to ensure the system’s reliability.
These included test runs with WAP-7 locomotives hauling different configurations of LHB coaches, as well as trials with a 20-coach Vande Bharat train.
Passenger trials were also conducted successfully, with over 20,000 kilometres of runs completed without any issues.
Kavach is an indigenously developed safety system designed to prevent accidents caused by human error.
It can automatically apply brakes if a train passes a signal at danger and helps ensure safe train operations by continuously monitoring speed and signals.
The system is part of the government’s broader push to modernise the rail network under the Make in India initiative.
So far, Kavach Version 4.0 has already been deployed on over 1,450 route kilometres, including key sections of the Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah corridors.
Indian Railways said it will continue expanding the system to more routes. In the next phase, Kavach will be introduced on the Ghaziabad–Tundla section as part of Mission Raftaar, which aims to increase train speeds and improve efficiency across the network.
–IANS