Govt approves Rs 270 crore Kavach deployment on 631 km of East Coast Railway
New Delhi, June 22
The government has approved the installation of its indigenous train protection system -- Kavach -- on 631 route kilometres of the East Coast Railway network at an estimated cost of Rs 270 crore, the Ministry of Railways said on Monday.
The project will cover six important railway sections under East Coast Railway -- Baghuapal-Budhapank, Haridaspur-Paradeep, Khurda Road-Balangir, Naupada-Gunupur, Lanjigarh Road-Junagarh and Bobbili-Salur -- according to the ministry.
The sanctioned work forms part of Indian Railways' larger programme to deploy Kavach with an LTE-based communication backbone across the national rail network.
Kavach is India's indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system designed to enhance operational safety by preventing signal passing at danger (SPAD), overspeeding and train collisions.
The system continuously monitors train movements and automatically applies brakes whenever required, significantly improving safety in train operations.
According to the ministry, installation of Kavach on these routes will provide automatic train protection and collision-avoidance capabilities, helping achieve a higher level of operational safety.
In addition to preventing accidents, the system is expected to improve the reliability of train services by enabling safer train movement during adverse weather conditions, including dense fog.
Railway officials said the project will benefit both passenger and freight train operations across key sections of Odisha and neighbouring regions served by East Coast Railway.
Moreover, the initiative is expected to enhance punctuality and operational efficiency while strengthening safety infrastructure on strategically important routes.
The latest approval comes amid Indian Railways' broader push to modernise signalling and safety systems across the network.
Earlier this month, the government announced that the Eastern Railway had received clearance to install Electronic Interlocking (EI) systems at 32 stations on High Density Network (HDN) and Highly Utilised Network (HUN) routes.
The government had approved Rs 405 crore for the signal upgradation project, which aims to improve reliability, safety and operational performance across critical railway corridors.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Rs 270 crore for 631 km — that's roughly Rs 43 lakh per km. Pretty reasonable for a life-saving safety system. But I wish they'd prioritize high-traffic routes like Mumbai-Delhi or Howrah-Chennai first. Still, good to see the government moving on this. Now let's hope the implementation is smooth and not delayed by red tape. 🚂
This is a smart step. Kavach is proven to work — it prevented a potential collision near Hyderabad last year. But why only 631 km? The East Coast Railway has over 2,500 km. We need faster rollout. Also, please make sure the local staff are trained properly. Otherwise, even the best tech won't help. 👍
As someone who works in railway operations, I can tell you this is much needed. Kavach is a solid indigenous system — better than relying on foreign tech like ETCS. The LTE backbone is also a plus for communication. But I worry about maintenance. Will railways have enough trained engineers to keep it running? Let's not forget the past failures with other 'modern' systems. 🤔
Great initiative, but let's be honest — the railways have announced similar projects before and then they get stuck in delays. Remember the 'Mission Raftaar'? The fog-related accidents last winter in UP were avoidable if Kavach was there. I hope this time the execution matches the promise. 🙏 Our trains need this desperately.
I'm a retired railway engineer. Kavach is excellent
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