Vadodara (Gujarat) [India], December 29 : In a significant boost to railway safety, Western Railway's Vadodara Division on Monday successfully commissioned the Kavach automatic train protection system on the Bajwa-Ahmedabad (BJW-ADI) section, becoming the first division in Western Railway to operationalise the advanced safety technology.
The commissioning marks a major step in Indian Railways' ongoing efforts to enhance operational safety and prevent train accidents through indigenous technology. The Kavach system has been made operational on the 96-km-long Bajwa-Ahmedabad route, covering 17 stations along one of the division's critical sections.
As part of the project, extensive infrastructure has been put in place. A total of 23 communication towers and 20 Kavach buildings or huts have been constructed, while 192 km of optical fibre cable has been laid to support seamless data transmission. Additionally, 2,872 RFID tags have been installed along the route to enable precise train location tracking and real-time communication between trains and signalling systems.
The system was inaugurated with the maiden Kavach-equipped run of the Sankalp Fast Passenger (59549/59550). The train operated with WAP-7 locomotive number 30459, fitted with an HBL-manufactured loco Kavach system, hauling 11 LHB coaches. Station Kavach systems on the section are also of HBL make. Network Management Systems (NMS) have been installed at the Vadodara Division office in Pratapnagar and at Ahmedabad to monitor and manage Kavach operations.
Officials said the Kavach system is now fully functional and capable of automatically mitigating multiple safety risks. Key features include prevention of accidents caused by Signal Passed at Danger (SPAD), automatic speed control based on sectional speeds, loop line limits and permanent speed restrictions, and protection against both head-on and rear-end collisions. The system also provides an SOS facility for emergencies and enables automatic whistling at level crossing gates.
With this commissioning, Western Railway has taken a decisive step towards strengthening passenger safety and modernising train operations using home-grown technology, officials added.