Kavach: India's Indigenous ATP System Enhancing Rail Safety

24 Jul 2023 CW Team

Kavach, an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, represents a highly advanced technology that requires the utmost safety certification. Its primary function is to assist the loco pilot in maintaining the train within specified speed limits by automatically applying brakes in case the pilot fails to do so. Moreover, Kavach ensures safe train operations during unfavourable weather conditions.

The initial field trials for passenger trains commence February 2016. Based on the insights gained from these trials and after an Independent Safety Assessment conducted by a third party, three firms received approval in 2018-19 for the supply of Kavach. Subsequently, Kavach was officially adopted as the National ATP system in July 2020.

As of now, Kavach has been successfully deployed on 1465 route km and 121 locomotives, which include Electric Multiple Unit rakes, on South Central Railway. Further, tenders for Kavach implementation on the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah corridors (approximately 3000 route km) have been awarded, and the work is currently in progress on these routes. Additionally, Indian Railways is preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and detailed estimates for another 6000 route km.

The total expenditure on Kavach implementation so far amounts to Rs 3519.1 million. The cost for providing Trackside equipment, including Station equipment, for Kavach is approximately Rs 5 million per kilometre, while the cost for equipping a locomotive with Kavach is around Rs 7 million per loco. Presently, there are three Indian Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) approved for Kavach, and efforts are underway to engage more vendors to increase capacity and expand the implementation of Kavach.

This information was presented by Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Minister of Railways, Communications, and Electronic and Information Technology, in a written response to a question in Rajya Sabha.

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