Indian Railways to launch Kavach on Mumbai-Delhi-Kolkata routes by March 2025, says Ashwini Vaishnaw – Railways News

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday (August 7) announced that the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, Kavach, will be operational on the 3,000-km Mumbai-Delhi and Delhi-Kolkata rail routes by March 2025. The advanced Kavach version 4.0 was approved by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) on July 17, and large-scale installation is set to commence soon. 

This latest version is designed to address communication challenges across various geographical conditions, including hilly, forested, coastal, and desert areas. Vaishnaw also noted that the upgrade to Kavach 4.0 will be applied uniformly at all locations where the previous version was installed.

Installation of Kavach on 10,000 locomotives

The Railway Ministry has also sanctioned the installation of Kavach on 10,000 locomotives over the next two years, with another 10,000 to follow in phases. 

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“The railway ministry has also approved the installation of Kavach on 10,000 locomotives in another two years. After that, the remaining 10,000 locomotives will be taken up in a phased manner,” Vaishnaw said.

Tenders for installing Kavach soon

Additionally, the ministry plans to invite tenders for installing Kavach on the 3,300-km Mumbai-Chennai and Chennai-Kolkata routes, as well as for approximately 5,000 km of all-automatic signalling sections. The tender process is expected to conclude within a couple of months, with installation set to begin in October 2024.

“Besides, in another important development, the ministry has decided to invite tender for 3300 km-long Mumbai-Chennai and Chennai-Kolkata route as well as about 5000 km-long all automatic signalling sections. I think the tender process will be completed in another couple of months and installation will start from October 2024 onwards,” Vaishnaw informed.

Installation capacity increased to 4,000 km annually 

Vaishnaw highlighted that the installation capacity has increased from 1,000 km annually to 4,000 km, enabling Kavach to be implemented on the Mumbai-Chennai and Chennai-Kolkata routes, as well as on all automatic signalling sections, within three years. With the addition of two more companies, the annual installation capacity will rise to about 5,500 km.

“With the current installation capacity, Kavach will become operational on the Mumbai-Chennai and Chennai-Kolkata route as well as all automatic signalling sections in another three years,” the railway minister said.

LiDAR survey going on at 8,000 stations

The installation process will include setting up station Kavach systems, RFID tags on tracks, and signalling towers, with a completion target for the LiDAR survey of approximately 8,000 stations by January next year. 

“The LiDAR (remote sensing) survey of about 8,000 stations is going to be completed by January next year. We will be utilizing the optical fiber cable laid along the track by the Railtel for communication purposes. Besides, the communication towers along the track and RFID tags on the track will be installed on a mission mode in another two and a half years,” the minister further said. 

Kavach to prevent red-signal violations

Vaishnaw noted that while Kavach will not detect track obstructions like cracks, it will address errors made by locomotive pilots. The system is expected to prevent red-signal violations 100% of the time and can automatically control train speed and apply brakes to prevent accidents. 

“What has come out from all trials is that Kavach will prevent red-signal jumps of trains in 100 per cent cases,” Vaishnaw said. 

However, Kavach does not influence train speed directly, which depends on track upgrades and fencing. The Railway Minister emphasized that the ATP system is crucial for modern railway signalling, enhancing safety by mitigating human error and ensuring reliable train operations.

(With inputs from PTI)

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