By Arun Kumar Das
New Delhi, Mar 23: Indian Railways has successfully commissioned the Kavach Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System on the 190 km long route between Prayagraj and Kanpur of Delhi–Howrah high-density corridor
The Kavach system was implemented through Train No. 14163.
Senior railway officials also conducted a footplate inspection onboard Train No 14163 from Subedarganj to Manauri station to assess the performance of the Kavach system.
In the first phase, Kavach will be enabled on eight pairs of trains: 14113/14114, 14163/14164, 12307/12308, 12417/12418, 22437/22438, 15003/15004, 20433/20434, and 12403/12404. Additional trains and Vande Bharat will be progressively included.
This commissioning marks a significant milestone in running trains at 160 KMPH and enhancing railway safety and improving operational efficiency on one of the most vital sections of Indian Railway.
Prior to commissioning, extensive and rigorous trials were successfully conducted. Trial runs included WAP-7 locomotives with 8, 16, and 22 LHB coach configurations, as well as a 20-coach Vande Bharat rake, ensuring system reliability under varied operational conditions.
The WAP-7 is a high-performance electric locomotive used by Indian Railways for hauling passenger trains, including premium services like Rajdhani, Shatabdi, and Duronto Express.
Passenger trials were also conducted using Train No. 15003/15004 (Chauri Chaura Express), which demonstrated consistent and reliable performance during regular service.
More than 20,000 kilometres of passenger trial runs have been successfully completed, with all system validations found satisfactory.
The Kavach system significantly enhances railway safety through many features including Automatic Train Protection (ATP), Prevention of Signal Passing at Danger (SPAD) and Automatic brake application in case of human error.
Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection system under the Make in India initiative and is being progressively deployed across Indian Railways to strengthen safety and modernize train operations.
Prior to this, after extensive and elaborate trials, Kavach Version 4.0 has been successfully commissioned on 1,452 Route Kilometres, covering the high-density Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah routes.
Indian Railways remains committed to adopting modern safety technologies and strengthening the safety framework, ensuring safer, more reliable, and efficient train operations for passengers.
In the next phase Kavach system will be introduced in Ghaziabad – Tundla section for running trains at 160 KMPH as one of the objectives of Mission Raftaar.
