Railway safety breakthrough: South Central Railway completes massive Kavach 4.0 expansion

Hyderabad: The South Central Railway (SCR) has successfully completed field trials of its indigenously developed safety system, Kavach 4.0, over 487 route kilometres during the 2025–26 financial year, exceeding the Railway Board’s target of 402 km.

Kavach is an advanced automatic train protection system designed to prevent accidents caused by human error. It can automatically apply brakes if a train passes a signal at danger and continuously monitors train speed and signalling to ensure safe operations.

SCR said it prioritised safety enhancement measures in 2025–26, with the installation of Kavach 4.0 across multiple sections of its network. The field trials were conducted in the following sections: Kazipet–Peddampet (101 km), Malkajgiri–Kamareddi (106 km), Charlapalli–Raghunathpalli (79 km), Guntakal–Raichur (120 km), and Mudkhed–Parbhani (81 km), with Loco Kavach trials successfully commissioned alongside the route-based system.

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In addition to Kavach, SCR commissioned Automatic Block Signalling (ABS) for a total of 479 route kilometres against the target of 357 km. Key sections include Kazipet–Balharshah, Vijayawada–Duvvada, and Wadi–Renigunta. ABS enables trains to safely follow one another in the same direction by controlling movements through automatically operated stop signals, reducing the risk of rear-end collisions and increasing line capacity.

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SCR officials said these initiatives not only strengthen safety but also improve operational efficiency, allowing higher average speeds while reducing railway costs. The systems are being prioritised for high-density and Grand Trunk routes across the zone.

Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, General Manager of SCR, lauded the Signal and Telecommunications wing teams at both zonal and divisional levels for their role in achieving record commissioning of Kavach and ABS. He added that these safety systems would continue to be implemented with top priority in the current financial year.

IANS