North Central Railway (NCR) has commissioned Kavach 4.0, its indigenous automatic train protection system, on the 64-km rail section between Mirzapur and Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Junction. The newly commissioned stretch is part of the busy Delhi–Howrah corridor, one of the country’s most important rail routes.

With this addition, North Central Railway now has 716 route km equipped with Kavach 4.0. The rollout is part of Indian Railways’ ongoing effort to strengthen train safety and improve the reliability of operations on high-density corridors.

Meanwhile, work on expanding Kavach continues across the country, with installation underway on thousands of kilometres of railway lines as Indian Railways moves towards wider adoption of the indigenous safety system.

North Central Railway crosses 700-km milestone

With the commissioning of the 64-km Mirzapur–Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Junction section, North Central Railway’s Kavach 4.0 network has grown to 716 route km, crossing the 700-km mark. 

What makes Kavach 4.0 different?

Kavach 4.0 is an upgraded version of Indian Railways’ indigenous Automatic Train Protection system, developed to improve safety and reliability on busy railway routes. The system supports loco pilots by continuously monitoring train movement and automatically applying brakes when safety limits are breached.

Designed for India’s high-density railway network, Kavach 4.0 includes improvements in train tracking, communication and signalling integration, making it more effective for large-scale deployment across major corridors.

Key upgrades in Kavach 4.0 include:

  • Improved location accuracy for precise monitoring of train positions.
  • Better signal information in large and complex station areas.
  • Faster communication through station-to-station optical fibre networks.
  • Seamless integration with existing electronic signalling systems.

National rollout continues

According to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s reply in the Lok Sabha, 2,569 route km had been commissioned with Kavach Version 4.0 across Indian Railways as of July 20, 2026.

At that time, the Delhi–Mumbai corridor accounted for 1,423 route km, while 1,146 route km had been commissioned on the Delhi–Howrah corridor.

Delhi–Mumbai Corridor has the widest coverage

The Delhi–Mumbai corridor currently has the most extensive Kavach coverage. The system has been commissioned on the 1,327-km Tilak Bridge–Palwal–Mathura–Kota–Nagda–Ratlam–Vadodara–Virar section, along with another 96-km stretch between Vadodara and Ahmedabad.These sections form part of one of India’s busiest rail corridors and are among the first to receive large-scale deployment of Kavach Version 4.0.

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Delhi–Howrah network expands

The Delhi–Howrah corridor has also seen significant deployment of the train protection system.

As per Ashwini Vaishnaw, Kavach had been commissioned on the Chipyana–Subedarganj (563 km), Kanpur–Lucknow (71 km), DDU–Bhabua Road (50 km), Sasaram–Phesar (43 km), Gaya–Sarmatarn–Nimiaghat (159 km), and Chota Ambana–Bardhaman–Howrah (260 km) sections as of July 20. The newly commissioned 64-km Mirzapur–DDU stretch further strengthens Kavach coverage on this important corridor.

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Over 21,800 km under installation

The Railway Minister also informed Parliament that Kavach installation is currently underway on 21,858 route km covering the Golden Quadrilateral, Golden Diagonal, High Density Network and several other important railway routes.

The ongoing rollout includes Southern Railway sections such as Gudur–Chennai Central–Arakkonam–Renigunta, Arakkonam–Jolarpettai and Shoranur–Ernakulam.

To support the expansion, Indian Railways has laid 11,253 km of optical fibre cable, installed 1,668 telecom towers and established data centres at 988 stations. Trackside equipment has already been provided along 7,726 route km.