New Delhi – Indian Railways has taken a big step towards safer train travel. The upgraded Kavach 4.0, an automatic train protection system made in India, is now working on 738 kilometres of two very busy routes – Delhi to Mumbai and Delhi to Howrah.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told Parliament on December 5 that Kavach 4.0 is now live on the Palwal-Mathura-Nagda section (633 km) on the Delhi-Mumbai route and the Howrah-Bardhaman section (105 km) on the Delhi-Howrah route. This news brings hope for fewer accidents on our trains.
Kavach acts like a shield for trains. It automatically applies brakes if the driver misses a signal or goes too fast. It also helps in bad weather like fog when drivers cannot see clearly.
What is Kavach and How Does It Work?
Kavach is fully made in India. Experts at the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) developed it with help from three Indian companies – Medha Servo Drives, Kernex Microsystems, and HBL Power Systems.
The system watches the train all the time. It knows exactly where the train is, what speed it should run at, and what the signals say. If something goes wrong, like the driver not slowing down for a red signal, Kavach takes over and stops the train safely.
Key parts of Kavach include:
- RFID tags fixed on the tracks every few metres to tell the exact location.
- Towers and optical fibre cables for fast communication between stations and trains.
- Special equipment inside the engine (locomotive) and at stations.
- Radio communication between trains to avoid head-on crashes.
In simple words, Kavach prevents trains from jumping red signals, over-speeding, or colliding with another train on the same track.
The latest Version 4.0 is even better. It has more accurate location tracking, better signal information in big railway yards, and direct links with electronic systems at stations. After good results from Version 3.2 on 1,465 km in South Central Railway, the team made these improvements for wider use.
Minister Vaishnaw said in Parliament: “Following the success of Version 3.2 on 1,465 route km of South Central Railway, further refinements led to Version 4.0, which is now being rolled out across the remaining portions of the Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah corridors.”
Latest Sections Where Kavach 4.0 is Working
The new commissioning covers:
- Delhi-Mumbai route — Palwal – Mathura – Nagda section: 633 km (this includes parts like Mathura-Kota and Kota-Nagda that were done earlier this year).
- Delhi-Howrah route — Howrah – Bardhaman section: 105 km.
These are very busy paths. Thousands of passengers travel daily on trains like Rajdhani, Shatabdi, and goods trains carrying important cargo.
Work is going fast on the rest of these corridors. The full Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah routes (around 3,000 km together) should get Kavach soon. Earlier plans said by March 2025, but some delays happened because of vendor approvals. Now the target is December 2025 for major parts.
Right now, track-side work for Kavach is happening on more than 15,500 km across the country, covering high-density networks and the Golden Quadrilateral (Delhi-Mumbai-Chennai-Kolkata routes).
How Much Money is Being Spent?
Putting Kavach on tracks costs about Rs 50 lakh per kilometre. For each locomotive, it costs around Rs 80 lakh.
Till October 2025, Indian Railways has spent Rs 2,354 crore on Kavach works. For the year 2025-26, Rs 1,673 crore is set aside.
Over the years, thousands of crores are going into this to make our railways one of the safest in the world.
Training and Manpower
Safety is not just about machines. People need to know how to use them.
Indian Railways has trained more than 40,000 staff on Kavach. This includes over 30,000 loco pilots and assistant pilots, plus technicians and engineers.
Special courses are run at the Indian Railway Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications (IRISET). Even some engineering colleges now teach Kavach in their courses.
Why Kavach is Important for India
Our country has one of the biggest railway networks in the world. Every day, lakhs of people travel by train. Sadly, accidents still happen sometimes because of human error, signal mistakes, or bad weather.
Kavach can stop most of these. It has the highest safety level called SIL-4, which means it is very reliable.
The government wants Kavach on the entire network in the next few years. Minister Vaishnaw has said the whole country will be covered in about six years.
He also said many developed countries took 20-30 years to build such systems, but India is doing it much faster under the Atmanirbhar Bharat mission.
What Passengers Can Expect
With Kavach, trains will be safer, especially on long routes like Delhi to Mumbai (about 1,400 km) and Delhi to Howrah (about 1,500 km).
In fog during winter, trains often run slow or get delayed for safety. Kavach will help trains run closer to normal speed even in poor visibility because the system sees for the driver.
No more worrying about two trains on the same track or missing a danger signal.
Future Plans
Indian Railways is not stopping here. New trains like Vande Bharat will come with Kavach already fitted. Plans are there to put it on local trains in Mumbai too by the end of 2025.
Work is on for other big routes like Mumbai-Chennai and Chennai-Kolkata.
As Minister Vaishnaw said, “Kavach is a highly technology-intensive system which requires safety certification of the highest order (SIL-4). With these improvements, Kavach Version 4.0 is planned for large-scale deployment over Indian Railways.”
This is good news for every Indian who travels by train. Safer journeys mean happier families and better business.
FAQs About Kavach 4.0 Rollout
1. What is the latest update on Kavach 4.0?
As of December 5, 2025, Kavach 4.0 is commissioned on 738 route km – 633 km on Delhi-Mumbai (Palwal-Mathura-Nagda) and 105 km on Delhi-Howrah (Howrah-Bardhaman).
2. How does Kavach stop accidents?
It automatically applies brakes if the driver misses a red signal, goes over speed, or if there is danger of collision. It also warns the driver with sounds and displays.
3. Is Kavach made in India?
Yes, fully developed in India by RDSO and three private companies. It is part of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
4. How much does Kavach cost?
About Rs 50 lakh per km for tracks and Rs 80 lakh per locomotive.
5. When will the full Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah routes get Kavach?
Major parts by end of 2025, with work ongoing.
6. Has Kavach been used before?
Yes, older versions are working on over 1,465 km in South Central Railway. Version 4.0 is the improved one for bigger rollout.
7. Will it help in fog?
Yes, trains can run safer and faster in fog because Kavach does not depend only on what the driver sees.
8. How many people are trained on Kavach?
More than 40,000 railway staff, including 30,000 loco pilots.