Indian Railways news: Train passengers travelling through the Lucknow Division are set to get an additional safety layer. Indian Railways has approved Rs 252 crore for Kavach 4.0 across 607.7 route kilometres. The project covers the remaining identified sections of the Lucknow Division under North Eastern Railway.
The approval comes as Railways continues its wider rollout of the indigenous train protection system.
For passengers, the key feature is Kavach’s ability to intervene during certain unsafe train movements.
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How Kavach protects trains
Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection system.
It monitors train movement and helps prevent Signal Passing at Danger, or SPAD.
If a loco pilot fails to apply brakes when required, Kavach can automatically apply them.
The system also helps control train speeds within prescribed limits.
Railways says the technology can support safer operations during adverse weather conditions. This includes situations involving dense fog.
Kavach was adopted as India’s National Automatic Train Protection system in July 2020.
Kavach 4.0 expands across key routes
The latest version brings several technology upgrades.
These include improved location accuracy and better signal information in larger railway yards.
It also supports station-to-station communication through optical fibre networks.
Another feature allows direct integration with existing electronic interlocking systems.
By July 31, 2026, Kavach 4.0 had been commissioned across 2,633 route kilometres.
This included major sections of the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah high-density corridors.
Thousands of kilometres under implementation
The rollout is much larger than the sections already commissioned.
Railways has taken up trackside Kavach implementation across 24,427 route kilometres, according to a March 2026 PIB update.
That figure covers the Golden Quadrilateral, Golden Diagonal, High Density Network and identified sections.
A July 2026 government update said work was underway on 21,937 route kilometres.
Installation was also being taken up on 7,435 locomotives and 1,200 EMU/MEMU trains.
What the Lucknow approval means
The Rs 252-crore project adds another 607.7 route kilometres to the Kavach rollout.
For passengers, the significance lies in adding automated protection to more train routes.
The system is designed to provide an additional safety layer during train operations.
The latest approval also shows the continued expansion of India’s indigenous train protection technology.
