Indian Railways has approved the deployment of Kavach Version 4.0 across 614.75 route km in Varanasi Division of North Eastern Railway at a total cost of Rs. 2.23 bn. The project will extend coverage to the identified balance sections of the division and strengthen train protection infrastructure.

Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system designed to improve operational safety. It helps prevent Signal Passing at Danger (SPAD), automatically applies brakes when required and monitors train operations to support safer movement. The expansion is part of Indian Railways’ continuing effort to deploy the indigenous technology across its network.

The railway has also approved the 6 km Barbil-Bolanikhadan doubling project of South Eastern Railway at a completion cost of Rs. 1.22 bn. The work is expected to facilitate additional freight traffic of 8.9 MTPA on the section after commissioning and help reduce delays affecting freight trains.

Barbil-Bolanikhadan is part of Indian Railways’ Energy, Mineral and Cement Corridor. The existing route is a single-line section carrying about 9 MTPA, including approximately six loaded rakes a day of originating iron ore traffic. The traffic consists of high-grade ore and pellets transported from SAIL’s Bolani mines and private sidings operated by Rungta and Khatau Narbheram to steel plants and ports.

The doubling of the stretch is planned ahead of the full realisation of capacity additions linked to SAIL’s mine expansion and developments at associated ports and plants. The project is intended to prevent capacity constraints in the mineral corridor as freight volumes increase, while the Kavach installation will provide additional protection for train operations in Varanasi Division.