New Delhi, September 19: Indian Railways has approved two safety and signalling projects worth a combined ₹461 crore, covering the deployment of Kavach Version 4.0 across 607.7 route kilometres of Lucknow Division and the installation of Electronic Interlocking at seven stations in Solapur Division.
Of the total investment, ₹252 crore has been approved for extending Kavach 4.0 across identified balance sections of the Lucknow Division of North Eastern Railway.
Kavach is Indian Railways’ indigenous Automatic Train Protection system. It is designed to help prevent Signal Passing at Danger (SPAD) incidents and can automatically apply brakes when required to improve train safety.
Separately, Indian Railways has approved ₹209 crore for Electronic Interlocking at seven stations in the Solapur Division of Central Railway.
The stations covered under the project are Mohol, Mundhewadi, Bale, Solapur, Hotgi Junction-Hotgi A Cabin, Shahabad and Wadi Junction.
These stations are located on the High Density Network-7 route, where Kavach, Automatic Block Signalling and Centralised Traffic Control works have already been sanctioned.
Electronic Interlocking is a computer-based signalling system that replaces conventional relay-based interlocking. According to the Railways, it provides more reliable control of points and signals, enables faster fault detection and restoration, simplifies maintenance and supports more efficient train operations.
Together, the two approvals form part of Indian Railways’ wider programme to modernise train protection and signalling systems, with the Lucknow project extending Kavach 4.0 coverage and the Solapur project strengthening signalling infrastructure to facilitate Kavach implementation.
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