Manufacturing: Rajya Sabha gets Kavach update

Bids for 15,000 Rkm track side work invited 

Three Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) have been approved for supply of Kavach System, an indigenously developed technology-intensive Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has told the Rajya Sabha on 20 Dec.

Project for equipping 10,000 Locomotives has been finalized while 69 loco sheds have been prepared for equipping with Kavach as part of next phase implementation.

Bids for track side Works of Kavach for approximately 15,000 Rkm have been invited https://www.bseindia.com/. 

Kavach, which requires safety certification of highest order (SIL-4), is to increase capacity and scale of implementation, trials and approval of more OEMs are at different stages https://www.nseindia.com/.

Specialized training programme on Kavach are being conducted at centralized training institutes of Indian Railways to impart training to all concerned officials.

More than 9,000 technicians, operators and engineers have been trained on Kavach technology, he said in a written reply to the upper house https://www.makeinindia.com/home/.

A fund of Rs.1112.57 crores has been allocated for the year 2024-25 for Kavach. So far, Rs.1,547 crores have been spent on the system.

Kavach aids the Loco Pilot in running of train within specified speed limits by automatic application of brakes in case Loco Pilot fails to do so and also helps the trains to run safely during inclement weather https://sbi.com.in/.

The first field trials on the passenger trains were started in February 2016. Based on the experience gained and Independent Safety Assessment of the system by Independent Safety Assessor (ISA), three firms were approved in 2018-19, for supply of Kavach Ver 3.2.

Kavach was adopted as National ATP system in July 2020.

Implementation of Kavach System involves following Key Activities:

Installation of Station Kavach at each and every station, block section.

Installation of RFID Tags throughout the track length.

Installation of telecom Towers throughout the section.

Laying of Optical Fibre Cable along the track.

Provision of Loco Kavach on each and every Locomotive running on Indian Railways.

Kavach specification version 4.0, approved on 16 July 2024, covers all the major features required for the diverse railway network. This is a significant milestone in safety for Indian Railways. Within a short period, IR has developed, tested and started deploying Automatic Train Protection System.

Major improvement in Version 4.0 includes increased Location Accuracy, Improved Information of Signal Aspects in bigger yard, Station to Station Kavach interface on OFC and Direct Interface to existing Electronic Interlocking System https://www.conexpoconagg.com/.

With these improvements, Kavach Ver.4.0. is planned for large scale deployment over Indian Railways. Fiinews.com