Lok Sabha Question No. 4329 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-18
Subject: Optical Fibre Network with Kavach System
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane, Dr. Hemant Vishnu Savara, Shri Jagdambika Pal, Shri Sudheer Gupta, Shri Anup Sanjay Dhotre, Shri Alok Sharma, Smt. Sanjna Jatav, Shri Chavan Ravindra Vasantrao, Shri Satish Kumar Gautam, Shri Vijay Kumar Dubey

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## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4329

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.03.2026

## OPTICAL FIBRE NETWORK WITH KAVACH SYSTEM

## †4329. SHRI VIJAY KUMAR DUBEY:

SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL SAMBHAJIRAO MANE:

SMT . SANJNA JATAV:

SHRI SATISH KUMAR GAUTAM:

SHRI CHAVAN RAVINDRA VASANTRAO:

SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA:

SHRI ALOK SHARMA:

SHRI ANUP SANJAY DHOTRE:

DR. HEMANT VISHNU SAVARA:

SHRI JAGDAMBIKA PAL:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  present  status  of  implementation  of  Kavach  4.0  system  and whether  the  target  of  covering  1300  route  kilometers  has  been achieved;
- (b) the manner in which the Government is planning to utilise Rs.1.2 lakh crore security budget to expeditiously deploy Automatic Train Protection  system  on  high-density  rail  corridors  particularly  in  Kota
- division under West-Central Railway;
- (c)  whether  the  AI-enabled  intrusion  detection  system  used  in  wildlife corridors  is  being  expanded  to  cover  all  sensitive  ecological  zones across the network and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d)  the  reasons  behind  integrating  the  optical  fiber  networks  with  the Kavach  system  including  the  manner  in  which  the  said  integration strengthens real-time communication in remote areas including Palghar district in Maharashtra?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a)  to  (d):  1.    Kavach  is  an  indigenously  developed  Automatic  Train Protection (ATP) system. Kavach is a highly technology intensive
- system, which requires safety certification of highest order (SIL-4).
2. Kavach aids the Loco Pilot in running of trains within specified speed limits by automatic application of brakes in case Loco Pilot fails to do
- so and also helps the trains to run safely during inclement weather.
3. The first field trials on the passenger trains were started in February 2016.  Based  on the  experience gained and Independent  Safety Assessment of the system by Independent Safety Assessor (ISA), three
- firms were approved in 2018-19, for supply of Kavach Ver 3.2.
- 4.
- Kavach was adopted as National ATP system in July, 2020.
5. Implementation of Kavach System involves following Key Activities:
- a) Installation of Station Kavach at each and every station, block section.
- b)
- Installation of RFID Tags throughout the track length.
- c) Installation of telecom Towers throughout the section.
- d)
- Laying of Optical Fibre Cable along the track.
- e) Provision of Loco Kavach on each and every Locomotive running on Indian Railways.
6. Based  on  deployment  of  Kavach  version  3.2  on  1465  RKm  on  South Central  Railway  and  experience  gained,  further  improvements  were made. Finally, Kavach specification version 4.0 was approved by RDSO on 16.07.2024.
7. Kavach  version  4.0  covers  all  the  major  features  required  for  the diverse railway network. This is a  significant  milestone  in  safety  for Indian Railways. Within a short period, IR has developed, tested and started deploying Automatic Train Protection System.
8. Major improvement in Version 4.0 includes increased Location Accuracy,  Improved  Information  of  Signal  Aspects  in  bigger  yards, Station  to  Station  Kavach  interface  on  OFC  and  Direct  Interface  to existing  Electronic  Interlocking  System.  With  these  improvements, Kavach  Ver.4.0.  is  planned  for  large  scale  deployment  over  Indian Railways.
9. After  extensive  and  elaborate  trials,  Kavach  Version  4.0  has  been successfully  commissioned  on  1452  Route  Kilometres,  covering  the high density Delhi- Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah routes as below:
10. Further, track side Kavach implementation work has been taken up on 24,427 RKM covering all GQ,GD,HDN and identified sections of Indian Railways.  The  sections  mentioned  above  also  pass  through  Kota division and state of Maharashtra.
11. Progress  of  key  items  of  Kavach  on  High  density  routes  including Delhi-  Mumbai  &  Delhi-  Howrah  corridors  as  on  14.03.2026  are  as under:
12. In  addition, work for installation of Kavach in 8979 Locomotives and 1200 EMU/MEMU has been taken up.
13. Specialized  training  programmes  on  Kavach  are  being  conducted  at centralized training institutes of Indian Railways to impart training to all concerned officials. By now  more than 55,000 technicians, operators  and  engineers  have  been  trained  on  Kavach  technology. This  includes  about  47,500  Loco  Pilots  &  Assistant  Loco  Pilots. Courses have been designed in collaboration with IRISET.
14. The  cost  for  provision  of  Track  Side  including  Station  equipment  of Kavach  is  approximately  Rs.  50  Lakhs/Km  and  cost  for  provision  of Kavach equipment on locomotives is approximately Rs. 80 Lakh/Loco.
15. The funds utilized on Kavach works so far up to Feb'26 is Rs. 2,763.90 Crores. The allocation of funds during the year 2025-26 is Rs. 1673.19 Crores.  Requisite  funds  are  made  available  as  per  the  progress  of works.
16. One  of  the  innovative  measures  taken  is  development  of  AI-enabled Intrusion Detection System (IDS) for detecting presence of elephants

| SN   | Section                                                                                                    | Progress (Route Km)   |
|------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------|
| (1)  | Delhi-Mumbai route:                                                                                        | Delhi-Mumbai route:   |
| i    | Junction cabin - Palwal - Mathura -Nagda section (including high density route of Kota division of WC Rly) | 667                   |
| ii   | Vadodara - Ahmedabad section                                                                               | 96                    |
| iii  | Vadodara - Virar section (Passes through Palghar distict)                                                  | 336                   |
| (2)  | Delhi - Howrah route:                                                                                      | Delhi - Howrah route: |
| i    | Gaya Sarmatanr section                                                                                     | 93                    |
| ii   | Chota Ambana - Bardhaman - Howrah section                                                                  | 260                   |

| SN   | Item                                 | Progress    |
|------|--------------------------------------|-------------|
| i    | Laying of Optical Fibre Cable        | 8570 Km     |
| ii   | Installation of Telecom Towers       | 1100 nos    |
| iii  | Station Data Centre                  | 767 Station |
| iv   | Installation of Track side equipment | 6776 RKm    |
| v    | Provision of Kavach in Loco          | 4211 nos    |

on  Railway  tracks  using  Distributed  Acoustic  Sensors  (DAS).  The system  components  includes  Optical  Fibre,  hardware  &  pre-installed signature of elephant locomotion. The system is designed to generate alerts  for  loco  pilots,  station  masters  and  Control  Room  about  the movement of elephants in proximity of railway tracks, for taking timely preventive  action.  Presently,  IDS  system  is  working  over  141  Route kms on critical and vulnerable locations identified by forest department in the Northeast Frontier railway zone. Works of IDS have also  been  sanctioned  for  identified  corridors  of  1088  Route  Kms across Indian railways covering NFR(403.42 Rkm), ECoR(368.70 Rkm), SR(55.85 Rkm), NR(52 Rkm), SER(55 Rkm), NER(18 Rkm), WR(115 Rkm) & ECR(20.3 Rkm).

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