Tenders awarded for rail anti-collision system ‘Kavach’ in Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Howrah corridors: Govt in Rajya Sabha

Kavach is a technology-intensive system which aids the loco pilot in the train running within specified speed limits

New Delhi: Tenders for anti-collision system ‘Kavach’ have been awarded for Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah corridors, which together are approximately 3000 route km, Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Parliament on Friday.

The work is in progress, Vaishnaw said.

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In a written reply in Rajya Sabha today, he also apprised the House that the Indian Railways is preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) and detailed estimate for installing Kavach in another 6,000 route km.
Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system.

Kavach is a technology-intensive system which aids the loco pilot in the train running within specified speed limits by automatic application of brakes in case the Loco Pilot fails to do so and also helps the train safely run during inclement weather.

The first field trials on the passenger trains were started in February 2016. The amount spent so far on Kavach implementation is Rs 351.91 crores. Based on the experience, three firms were approved in 2018-19, for supply of Kavach. Subsequently, Kavach was adopted as a National Automatic Train Protection system in July 2020.

The system has so far been deployed on 1,465 route km and 121 locomotives (including Electric Multiple Unit rakes) on South Central Railway.

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

There was much debate around the anti-collision system in light of the horrific triple-train accident in Odisha’s Balasore on June 2, which claimed the lives of close to 300 passengers while leaving about 1,000 injured.