New Delhi: Indian Railways has approved Kavach deployment on 631 route kilometres of East Coast Railway at a cost of ₹270 crore to strengthen train safety and improve operational efficiency.
The project covers six key railway sections: Baghuapal–Budhapank, Haridaspur–Paradeep, Khurda Road–Balangir, Naupada–Gunupur, Lanjigarh Road–Junagarh and Bobbili–Salur.
Officials said the sanctioned work forms part of Indian Railways’ larger programme to expand Kavach across the national rail network using an LTE-based communication backbone.
Kavach is India’s indigenous Automatic Train Protection system. It helps prevent signal passing at danger, over-speeding and train collisions through continuous monitoring of train movements.
Moreover, the system can automatically apply brakes when required, thereby enhancing operational safety and reducing the risk of accidents.
The approved Kavach deployment marks another step in the Railways’ effort to modernise safety infrastructure on high-priority routes.
Kavach deployment to improve train reliability
Railway officials said the system will provide advanced collision-avoidance and automatic train-protection capabilities across the identified sections.
In addition, Kavach enables safer train operations during adverse weather conditions, including dense fog. As a result, railway authorities expect improved reliability and punctuality of services.
The project will benefit both passenger and freight operations across important railway corridors in Odisha and neighbouring regions served by East Coast Railway.
Furthermore, the technology will help train operators maintain safe movement while improving overall network efficiency.
Indian Railways has been expanding Kavach coverage on strategically important and high-density routes across the country. Therefore, the latest Kavach deployment forms an important part of the national railway safety enhancement programme.
Officials said the initiative will strengthen safety infrastructure while supporting faster, more reliable and efficient rail operations in the region.
