Indian Railways Approves Rs 2.7 bn Kavach Rollout in Odisha

The project will be implemented on the Baghuapal–Budhapank, Haridaspur–Paradeep, Khurda Road–Balangir, Naupada–Gunupur, Lanjigarh Road–Junagarh and Bobbili–Salur sections. These routes carry a mix of passenger and freight traffic and connect several industrial and commercial centres within the East Coast Railway jurisdiction. Implementation on these sections will focus on integration with existing signalling and traffic management systems. Work scheduling and commissioning timelines will be managed to minimise disruption to services.

Kavach is an Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system developed in India and its primary functions include prevention of signal passing at danger, curbing of overspeeding and automatic application of brakes to avert collisions without waiting for driver intervention. Railway officials said the system continuously tracks train movements and issues commands when a risk is detected, thereby reducing reliance on human response. The technology also assists operations in low visibility conditions such as dense fog, which commonly forces speed restrictions and causes delays during winter months.

Once operational, the system is expected to improve safety margins and service reliability on the identified stretches, benefiting freight movement as well as passenger services running through Odisha and neighbouring regions. Manufacturers involved in procurement and supply chains that will be in focus include HBL Engineering, Kernex Microsystems, Quadrant Future Tek and Bharat Electronics as a supplier of electronics and communication systems. The ministry described the rollout as part of a phased expansion and indicated further deployments across busy corridors will follow as resources are allocated.