{"id":1031,"date":"2026-11-09T23:07:59","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T17:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenoviq.cloud\/blog\/?post_type=noviq_note&p=1031"},"modified":"2026-11-09T23:07:59","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T17:37:59","slug":"kavach-automatic-train-protection","status":"publish","type":"noviq_note","link":"https:\/\/thenoviq.cloud\/blog\/notes\/kavach-automatic-train-protection\/","title":{"rendered":"Kavach: India’s automatic train protection system"},"content":{"rendered":"

What Kavach does<\/h2>\n

Kavach (Hindi for armour) is an Automatic Train Protection system. It reads the signal and speed limit ahead and shows them to the loco pilot in the cab. If the pilot does not slow down for a speed restriction or a red signal, Kavach applies the brakes on its own. It also helps trains run safely in fog and bad weather, when the pilot cannot see signals clearly.<\/p>\n

The five building blocks<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Station Kavach<\/strong> at every station and block section.<\/li>\n
  2. RFID tags<\/strong> laid along the full length of the track, which tell the train its exact location.<\/li>\n
  3. Telecom towers<\/strong> along the section, for radio communication with trains.<\/li>\n
  4. Optical fibre cable<\/strong> along the track, linking stations.<\/li>\n
  5. Loco Kavach<\/strong> fitted on every locomotive.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Versions<\/h2>\n

    Version 3.2 was the first large deployment, on 1,465 route km of South Central Railway. Version 4.0, approved by RDSO on 16 July 2024, improves location accuracy, gives better signal information in large yards, connects stations to each other over optical fibre and links directly with electronic interlocking.<\/p>\n

    Timeline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Date<\/th>\nMilestone<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
    February 2016<\/td>\nFirst field trials on passenger trains<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    2018-19<\/td>\nThree firms approved to supply Version 3.2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    July 2020<\/td>\nAdopted as the National ATP system<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    16 July 2024<\/td>\nRDSO approves Version 4.0 specification<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    5 December 2025<\/td>\nVersion 4.0 on 738 route km (PIB)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    13 February 2026<\/td>\nVersion 4.0 on 1,297 route km (PIB)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    13 July 2026<\/td>\nVersion 4.0 on 2,490 route km (PIB)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    Cost and spending<\/h2>\n

    PIB puts the cost at about Rs 50 lakh per km for trackside and station equipment, and about Rs 80 lakh per locomotive. Up to December 2025, Rs 2,573.36 crore had been spent, with Rs 1,673.19 crore allocated for 2025-26. Trackside work had been taken up on 23,360 route km as of February 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    How Kavach stops trains from passing signals and over-speeding, its versions, components, costs and rollout figures from PIB.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[15,14,13],"noviq_topic":[37],"class_list":["post-1031","noviq_note","type-noviq_note","status-publish","hentry","category-science-technology","tag-rrb","tag-ssc","tag-upsc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenoviq.cloud\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/noviq_note\/1031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenoviq.cloud\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/noviq_note"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenoviq.cloud\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/noviq_note"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenoviq.cloud\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thenoviq.cloud\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/noviq_note\/1031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1345,"href":"https:\/\/thenoviq.cloud\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/noviq_note\/1031\/revisions\/1345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenoviq.cloud\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenoviq.cloud\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenoviq.cloud\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1031"},{"taxonomy":"noviq_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenoviq.cloud\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/noviq_topic?post=1031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}