Western Railway Expands Kavach 4.0 System on Mumbai-Delhi Corridor
In a significant advancement for railway safety, Western Railway (WR) commissioned the Kavach 4.0 system on the Vadodara-Nagda section on Monday. This development means that most of the high-density Mumbai–New Delhi main corridor is now under the protection of this indigenous train safety system.
Official Commissioning and Coverage Details
WR General Manager Pradeep Kumar flagged off a Kavach-enabled special train from Vadodara station in the presence of senior railway officials. With this commissioning, 559.5 kilometers of the 693 kilometers under WR on the Mumbai-New Delhi corridor—part of Mission Raftaar—are now equipped with Kavach. This covers the majority of this critical route, enhancing operational safety by minimizing human error and acting as a safeguard against incidents like Signal Passing at Danger (SPAD).
On the Vadodara-Nagda section specifically, Kavach has been operationalized on 224.51 kilometers, including the stretches from Vadodara to Mangal Mahudi (122.5 km) and Panchpipliya to Nagda (102.01 km). Work on the remaining Mangal Mahudi-Panchpipliya section is currently underway and is expected to be completed soon, along with automatic signaling.
Recent Deployment and Future Plans
In the 2025-26 financial year, WR commissioned Kavach on a total of 659.5 kilometers of the route. The system was made operational on the Vadodara-Virar section in January 2026 and has now been extended up to Nagda via Godhra. Kavach, an advanced and indigenously developed train protection system, is designed to provide an additional layer of safety.
Railway officials highlighted that compared to European systems such as the European Train Control System (ETCS), Kavach is significantly more cost-effective. So far, it has been deployed in WAP-7, WAG-9, and WAP-5 locomotives, with plans to extend it to other classes. A total of 364 locomotives on WR have already been equipped with Kavach.
Infrastructure and Implementation Efforts
The execution of the project on the Vadodara-Nagda section involved extensive planning and deployment. Over 6,000 RFID tags were installed along the tracks, while continuous radio communication was established across 26 stations and 13 block sections, along with locomotives. A network of 39 radio towers was set up, supported by nearly 600 kilometers of optical fiber cable laid in both directions.
Kavach equipment has been integrated with existing signaling systems at stations, block sections, and level crossing gates. Locomotives have also been fitted with onboard Kavach devices, followed by comprehensive trials and system testing to ensure reliability and effectiveness.
