In a major boost to railway safety across Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, the Indian Railways has approved the installation of the Kavach Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system on the remaining broad-gauge sections of the Ambala Division of the Northern Railway.
The project, covering 811 route kilometres, has been sanctioned at a cost of Rs 201 crore under the umbrella programme for the provision of Kavach with an LTE-based communication backbone on the remaining routes of the Indian Railways.
The sanctioned work will cover important rail routes in the Ambala Division, including Ambala Cantonment–Ludhiana, Kalka–Chandigarh–New Morinda–Sahnewal, Sirhind–Daulatpur Chowk, Rajpura–Bathinda–Shri Ganganagar and Ludhiana–Dhuri–Jakhal sections.
These routes serve as key rail corridors connecting the states of Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. They handle substantial passenger and freight traffic and play an important role in the movement of people and goods across the region, an official statement said.
The Indian Railways has also approved the installation of Kavach on 598 route kilometres spanning 48 block sections of the Ahmedabad Division of Western Railway in Gujarat at an estimated cost of Rs 140 crore.
Earlier, Kavach installation had already been sanctioned on about 702 route kilometres in the Ahmedabad Division. With the latest approval, the remaining sections of the division will also be brought under the safety system, ensuring comprehensive Kavach coverage and further strengthening operational safety.
Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system designed to enhance train safety by preventing Signal Passing at Danger (SPAD) incidents. It can automatically apply brakes in unsafe situations, regulate train speeds under critical conditions and significantly reduce the risk of collisions.
