Railways to armour 3K km of Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Howrah route with Kavach syste

In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronic & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “Kavach tenders have been awarded for Delhi – Mumbai & Delhi – Howrah corridors (approximately 3000 Route km) and work is in progress on these routes. Indian Railways is preparing Detailed Project Report (DPR) and detailed estimate for another 6000 RKM.”

He added that Kavach has so far been deployed on 1465 Route km and 121 locomotives (including Electric Multiple Unit rakes) on South Central Railway.

Kavach is indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system. Kavach is a highly technology intensive system, which requires safety certification of highest order. Kavach aids the loco pilot in train running within specified speed limits by automatic application of brakes in case loco pilot fails to do so and also help the train safely run during inclement weather.

The first field trials on the passenger trains were started in February 2016. Based on the experience so gained and Independent Safety Assessment of the system by a 3rd party (Independent Safety Assessor: ISA), three firms were approved in 2018-19, for supply of Kavach. Subsequently Kavach was adopted as a National ATP system in July 2020.

According to the railway ministry, the amount spent so far on Kavach implementation is Rs.351.91 crore. The cost for provision of track side including station equipment of Kavach is approximately Rs. 50 lakhs/km and cost for provision of Kavach equipment on loco is approximately Rs. 70 lakh/ loco.

Presently there are three Indian OEMs who are approved for Kavach. Efforts are being made to develop more vendors to enhance the capacity and scale up the implementation of Kavach.

Updated: 21 Jul 2023, 11:50 PM IST