Thousands of passengers travelling through Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat are set to benefit from enhanced train safety measures.
In a major move to make train journeys safer, Indian Railways has approved two new Kavach projects worth ₹341 crore, bringing the indigenous train protection system to more routes in northern and western India.
The latest approvals will see Kavach installed across important railway corridors in the Ambala Division of Northern Railway and the Ahmedabad Division of Western Railway.
Together, the projects will cover more than 1,400 route kilometres and are expected to strengthen safety on some of the country’s busiest passenger and freight routes.
Northern Railway gets the biggest share
Among the two projects, the Ambala Division will see the highest investment, where Indian Railways will spend ₹201 crore to install Kavach on 811 route kilometres.
The approved routes include:
- Ambala Cantonment–Ludhiana
- Kalka–Chandigarh–New Morinda–Sahnewal
- Sirhind–Daulatpur Chowk
- Rajpura–Bathinda–Shri Ganganagar
- Ludhiana–Dhuri–Jakhal
These routes are crucial rail links connecting Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Every day, thousands of passengers and large volumes of freight move through these sections, making safety upgrades particularly important.
Gujarat Network set to get full Kavach coverage
Meanwhile, the Ahmedabad Division of Western Railway has received approval for a ₹140 crore Kavach project covering 598 route kilometres and 48 block sections.
Earlier, Kavach work had already been approved on around 702 route kilometres in the division. With the latest sanction, the remaining sections of the Ahmedabad Division will also come under the advanced train protection system, enabling wider deployment across the region.
What is Kavach?
Developed in India, Kavach is an Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system designed to prevent accidents caused by human error.
The system can automatically apply brakes if a train crosses a stop signal, control speed in risky situations and help prevent collisions. It acts as an extra safety layer, especially on busy railway routes where a large number of trains operate every day.
In recent years, Indian Railways has been expanding the use of Kavach across its network as part of its efforts to improve railway safety and modernise train operations.