Indian Railways has accorded safety the highest priority.  As a consequence of various safety measures taken over the years, there has been a steep decline in the number of accidents, according to the government.

Safety is accorded the highest priority on Indian Railways.  As a consequence of various safety measures taken over the years, there has been a steep decline in the number of accidents.

Number of Consequential Train Accidents has reduced as shown in the table below:-

Another important index showing improvement in safety in train operations is Consequential Accident Index, the details of which are as under:-

Consequential Accident Index:-

Kavach Implementation

1.      Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system. Kavach is a highly technology intensive system, which requires safety certification of highest order (SIL-4).

2.     Kavach aids the Loco Pilot in running of trains within specified speed limits by automatic application of brakes in case Loco Pilot fails to do so and also helps the trains to run safely during inclement weather.

3.      The first field trials on the passenger trains were started in February 2016. Based on the experience gained and Independent Safety Assessment of the system by Independent Safety Assessor (ISA), three firms were approved in 2018-19, for supply of Kavach Ver 3.2.

4.      Kavach was adopted as National ATP system in July, 2020.

5.      Implementation of Kavach System involves following Key Activities:

a.   Installation of Station Kavach at each and every station, block section.

b.   Installation of RFID Tags throughout the track length.

c.   Installation of telecom Towers throughout the section.

d.   Laying of Optical Fibre Cable along the track.

e.   Provision of Loco Kavach on each and every Locomotive running on Indian Railways.

6.   Based on deployment of Kavach version 3.2 on 1,465 RKm on South Central Railway and experience gained, further improvements were made. Finally, Kavach specification version 4.0 was approved by RDSO on 16.07.2024.

7.    Kavach version 4.0 covers all the major features required for the diverse railway network. This is a significant milestone in safety for Indian Railways. Within a short period, IR has developed, tested and started deploying Automatic Train Protection System.

8.    Major improvement in Version 4.0 includes increased Location Accuracy, Improved Information of Signal Aspects in bigger yards, Station to Station Kavach interface on OFC and Direct Interface to existing Electronic Interlocking System. With these improvements, Kavach Ver.4.0. is planned for large scale deployment over Indian Railways.

9.   After extensive and elaborate trials, Kavach Version 4.0 has been successfully commissioned on 2,569 Route Kilometres as on 20.07.26, covering the high density Delhi- Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah routes as below:

10.  In addition, track side Kavach implementation work has been taken up on 21,858 RKM covering all GQ,GD,HDN and identified sections of Indian Railways including sections (Gudur – Chennai Central – Arakkonaum – Renigunta, Arakkonaum – Jolarpettai, Shoranur – Ernakulam sections) passing through Southern Railway.

12.    In addition, work for installation of Kavach in 7,327 Locomotives and 1,200 EMU/MEMU has been taken up.

13.   Specialized training programmes on Kavach are being conducted at centralized training institutes of Indian Railways to impart training to all concerned officials. By now more than 94,000 technicians, operators and engineers have been trained on Kavach technology. This includes about 57,000 Loco Pilots & Assistant Loco Pilots. Courses have been designed in collaboration with IRISET.

14.   The funds utilized on Kavach works so far up to Jun'26 is Rs. 3,874 Crores. The allocation of funds during the year 2026-27 is Rs. 2066 Crores. Kavach work is going at good pace in the entire country. Requisite funds are made available as per the progress of works.

This information was provided by the Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on July 30,2026.

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By Mahesh Kumar/ Dr. Nayan Solanki/ Ritu Raj/ Manik Sharma/ Vanshita Jaiswal

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