Vadodara: The Vadodara Division of Western Railway on Monday commissioned the indigenously developed Kavach 4.0 system on the 96-km Bajwa–Ahmedabad section, marking a major push for rail safety.

The first train equipped with the system, 59549/59550 Sankalp Fast Passenger, operated between Vadodara and Ahmedabad, marking the formal rollout of Kavach on the route. Divisional Railway Manager Raju Bhadke, along with senior railway officials, travelled in the locomotive to assess the system’s performance.

Addressing the media, the DRM said the system will automatically stop trains at red signals, prevent overspeeding and eliminate collision risks. The latest version of Kavach is being rolled out across trains, including Vande Bharat, marking a quantum leap in passenger safety.

Kavach is an indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system designed to prevent Signal Passing at Danger (SPAD), regulate overspeeding and avert both head-on and rear-end collisions. The system functions through RFID tags installed along the track and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) radio communication, enabling real-time data exchange between track equipment, signalling systems and locomotives, while providing continuous alerts to loco pilots.

On the Bajwa–Ahmedabad section, 17 stations have been brought under Kavach coverage, with 23 communication towers installed and 192 km of optical fibre cable laid. A Network Management System (NMS) has been established at the division offices in Pratapnagar, Vadodara, and Ahmedabad. DeshGujarat