Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Government has approved the installation of its indigenous train protection system — Kavach — on 631 route kilometres (RKm) of the East Coast Railway network at an estimated cost of Rs 270 crore, the Ministry of Railways said on June 22.
The project will cover six important railway sections under East Coast Railway — Baghuapal–Budhapank, Haridaspur–Paradeep, Khurda Road-Balangir, Naupada-Gunupur, Lanjigarh Road-Junagarh and Bobbili-Salur — according to the ministry.
The sanctioned work forms part of Indian Railways’ larger programme to deploy Kavach with an LTE-based communication backbone across the national rail network.
Kavach is India’s indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system designed to enhance operational safety by preventing signal passing at danger (SPAD), overspeeding and train collisions.
The system continuously monitors train movements and automatically applies brakes whenever required, significantly improving safety in train operations.
According to the ministry, installation of Kavach on these routes will provide automatic train protection and collision-avoidance capabilities, helping achieve a higher level of operational safety.
In addition to preventing accidents, the system is expected to improve the reliability of train services by enabling safer train movement during adverse weather conditions, including dense fog.
Railway officials said the project will benefit both passenger and freight train operations across key sections of Odisha and neighbouring regions served by East Coast Railway.
