09 July,2026 08:20 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
KAVACH system goes live on Solapur-Wadi section (Pic/Special arrangement)
In a significant step towards modernising railway safety infrastructure, the Solapur Division of Central Railway on Thursday, July 9, commissioned the Standard KAVACH system on the 149.476-km Solapur-Wadi section.
The development marks the first-ever commissioning of the indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system in the Solapur Division and is expected to significantly enhance operational safety and reliability.
Central Railway officials highlighted that the âKAVACH' system has been developed under the Government of India's Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. They also added that this is a native train protection system designed to prevent head-on and rear-end collisions by enabling continuous communication between KAVACH-equipped locomotives and railway infrastructure.
The system also supports automatic SOS alerts from locomotives in the event of unusual stoppages within block sections, along with a manual SOS feature that can be activated by loco pilots during emergencies.
According to Central Railway, the standard KAVACH is a non-signalling-based safety system that relies on advanced Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID)-based track identification technology to accurately determine train positions and improve operational safety.
As part of the commissioning process, a total of 1,234 RFID tags were installed and programmed across the Solapur-Wadi section in accordance with the approved design specifications, as per the Central Railway.
Officials, while briefing further about the safety system, said that the project underwent extensive validation and field trials as per the standards prescribed by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO).
The testing included simulated scenarios to evaluate the system's ability to prevent head-on and rear-end collisions, as well as its SOS generation capabilities under different operating conditions. The successful completion of these trials has confirmed the system's readiness for commercial operations.
The commissioning work was carried out by the Signal and Telecommunication Department's Project Unit of the Solapur Division.
Central Railway further asserted, "The implementation of the standard KAVACH system represents another major milestone in Indian Railways' ongoing efforts to strengthen safety infrastructure through indigenous technology. Besides improving train safety, the system is expected to enhance operational efficiency and reliability for both passenger and freight services."
The successful rollout also reflects the Solapur Division's continued focus on technological innovation and railway modernisation while supporting the Government of India's vision of building a safer, smarter and self-reliant railway network under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
