Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said the fourth and final version of the automatic train protection system Kavach is ready and has also received necessary approvals from the Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO).
Vaishnaw, who addressed the media on the Budget 2024-25 a day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented it, also assured that now Installation of the technology will begin soon.
People often question the implementation of this technology, especially after any train accident.
“Last week, Kavach 4.0, the fourth version of Kavach, was approved by the RDSO. Our railway network is very complex… The system has been designed keeping in mind all these conditions across the country. The fourth version covers all the various conditions .The fourth version is now frozen. Now we can start deployment quickly,” he said in Hindi.
The technology includes five subsystems: optical cable laying, telecommunications tower installation, station equipment provision, locomotive equipment provision and trackside equipment installation.
The minister did not reveal a tentative timetable for when the entire rail network is expected to be covered, but assured that this would be done as a priority.
He also explained that if implemented before final design, replacement would be required.
According to the ministry's statement in the Rajya Sabha in February, Kavach has so far been deployed on 1,465 km of routes and 139 locomotives (including electric multi-set rakes) on the South Central Railway.
“Currently, Kavach has invited tenders for the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah corridors (approximately 3,000 km of route). The progress of major projects related to Kavach is as follows: Laying of fiber optic cables (3,040 km); Installation of telecom towers (269); Providing at stations equipment (186); provision of locomotive equipment (170 locomotives) and installation of trackside equipment (827 km of route),” the statement said.
Vaishnaw also assured that there will be no shortage of funds to implement the technology, adding that Rs 108 crore has been allocated for security this year.
He said the technology was developed in 2016 and certified in 2019.
Kavach is a self-developed automatic train protection (ATP) system. It is also a highly technology-intensive system that requires the highest level of safety certification. This technology can help the locomotive operate within the prescribed speed limit by automatically braking when the locomotive fails to comply with the prescribed speed limit, and can also help the train operate safely in bad weather.
Kavach has been certified to the highest safety integrity level – SIL4 – by an independent safety assessment agency and uses its non-SIL functionality to reduce the possibility of train collisions on street sections and station routes. Therefore, Kavach has the potential to be adopted by other countries.
According to the latest figures from the ministry, Kavach has so far been deployed on 1,465 kilometers of line and 144 locomotives (including electric multi-set rakes) on the South Central Railway.
The ministry informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that the progress of major projects related to Kawachi is as follows: laying of optical cables (4,275 kilometers), installation of telecommunications towers (364), provision of station equipment (285), provision of locomotive equipment (319 locomotives) , and installation of trackside equipment (1,384 route kilometers).
Besides, the Indian Railways has also approved the detailed project report (DPR) and detailed estimate of another 6,000 RKms. To increase production capacity and scale implementation, more OEMs are conducting trials at various stages.
Earlier in the day, the minister informed the Lok Sabha that the Kavach 4.0 specifications had been approved by the RDSO on July 16.
“This release covers all the major features required for a diverse railway network. This is a major milestone for Indian railway safety. In a very short period of time, Indian Railways has developed, tested and started deploying automatic train protection systems.
So far, funds of Rs 1,216.77 million have been utilized for the Kavach project and the allocation for 2024-25 is Rs 1,112.57 million. Vaishnaw added that the funds approved for Kavach are for Kavach only.
