Central Railway General Manager Dharam Veer Meena, PCSTE Maninder Singh Uppal, DRM Sujeet Mishra and others with a KAVACH equipment fitted locomotive at Kurduwadi Railway Station in Solapur Division before the first KAVACH Loco Trials in Central Railway on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Central Railway on Sunday successfully conducted its first trial of the indigenously developed KAVACH Automatic Train Protection System in Solapur Division marking a major step in enhancing railway safety and operational efficiency.
The trial was carried out over a 26-km stretch between Dhavalas and Bhalwani stations under the leadership of Central Railway General Manager Dharam Veer Meena who was joined by Principal Chief Signal and Telecom Engineer Maninder Singh Uppal, Divisional Railway Manager (Solapur) Sujeet Mishra and other senior officers.
During the loco trials, key safety features of KAVACH were tested, including prevention of Signal Passing at Danger (SPAD), generation of emergency alerts (SOS) by station masters and block sections and overspeed prevention at turnouts.
Speaking after the trial, Mr. Meena described the achievement as “a pivotal moment in the rollout of this indigenous safety system.”
He added: “It demonstrates the unwavering focus of Indian Railways in ensuring the highest levels of passenger safety and operational efficiency.”
Training strengthened
The first KAVACH Simulation Lab and Training Centre of Central Railway was also operationalised at Kurduwadi on the occasion, along with a new FAT set-up to ensure rigorous training and implementation of advanced safety protocols.
Mr. Meena inspected the renovated Loco Pilot and Train Manager Running Room, the Ultrasonic Flaw Detection building and an upgraded gang hut at Kurduwadi.
Milestones
The tender for KAVACH implementation in Central Railway was awarded on March 30 this year. Completing loco trials in less than six months in Solapur Division has been described as a “commendable effort” by officials.
On August 25, Central Railway also achieved a milestone when Mr. Meena flagged off the 50th locomotive fitted with KAVACH at the Electric Loco Shed, Kalyan, Mumbai Division.
In another key development, the first Unified KAVACH Control Centre of Central Railway was inaugurated earlier this month in Bhusawal Division.
The state-of-the-art centre monitors KAVACH at 134 locations with a dedicated Network Monitoring System (NMS) for real-time supervision.
Sharing details with The Hindu on the adoption of KAVACH, an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System that prevents collisions, overspeeding and SPAD incidents by enabling real-time exchange of signalling and locomotive data through a radio link, Senior Public Relations Inspector of Solapur Division S. Vikram A.K. said that the Railway Board has sanctioned fitment in 730 locomotives of Central Railway in the first phase, with work under progress across loco sheds.
He added that Central Railway has emerged as a frontrunner in the mission-mode implementation of KAVACH aimed at ensuring safer, smarter and more reliable train operations for passengers.
Published – September 16, 2025 10:45 pm IST
