Railways Kavach 4.0: Big news for indina railway passengers. Indian Railways has made significant progress in enhancing passenger safety. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav revealed that the domestically developed automatic train protection system, “Kavach 4.0,” has been successfully implemented on 1,452 kilometers of the busiest routes, including Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah. This system is entirely manufactured in India and has received the highest safety certification, “SIL-4.” The main purpose of Kavach is to avert train accidents and support loco pilots in challenging situations.
What exactly is Kavach 4.0 and how does it function?
Kavach is a technology that constantly tracks train speed. If, for any reason, the loco pilot forgets to engage the brakes or disregards a signal, the system automatically activates the brakes. This feature ensures safe train operations even in adverse weather conditions or heavy fog. Version 4.0 includes several significant enhancements, such as precise location tracking, improved signal information in large yards, and seamless integration with the electronic interlocking system. Thanks to these advancements, plans are now in motion to roll it out extensively across the national railway network.
The Railways has undertaken comprehensive efforts to implement Kavach. So far, 8,570 kilometers of optical fiber cable have been installed, and 1,100 telecom towers have been constructed along the tracks. Additionally, data centers have been established at 767 stations, and essential equipment has been set up on 6,776 kilometers of track. The Railway Minister mentioned that work has been finalized on the Palwal-Mathura-Nagda, Vadodara-Ahmedabad, and Vadodara-Virar sections of the Delhi-Mumbai route. The Gaya-Sarmatnagar and Bardhaman-Howrah sections of the Delhi-Howrah route have also been outfitted with Kavach.
Record increase in security budget
Railways has significantly increased spending on safety-related activities. While safety expenditures were Rs 39,200 crore in 2013-14, they have been increased to Rs 1,20,389 crore for 2026-27. This represents a more than three-fold increase in the safety budget. As a result, the number of major train accidents has decreased by 90 percent. While there were 135 major accidents in 2014-15, this number has dropped to just 14 in 2025-26, as of February 28.
