The Indian Railway ministry unveiled an indigenously created railway collision prevention technology called ‘Kavach’ earlier this month in an effort to make rail transport safer. Kavach automatically draws a locomotive to stop when it senses an obstruction on the track.
In 2022-23, Indian Railways expects to deploy Kavach on 2,000 railway path systems, with 4,000-5,000 rail channel networks installed each year after that. Following successful trial runs, Kavach has been installed on over 1,098 route km and 65 trains moving under the South Central Railway.
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What is KAVACH?
Since 2012, the railway system has been working on a self-protection program known as Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), that has since been renamed Kavach, which means “armour.” Kavach was developed in collaboration with Medha Servo Drives Pvt Ltd, HBL Power Systems Ltd, and Kernex Microsystems by the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) of Indian Railways (IR).
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KAVACH is an anti-collision system designed in India to efficiently minimize train fatalities. This anti-collision mechanism minimises the possibilities of a mistake to a one-in-10,000-year margin. “The indigenously created anti-collision system is SIL4 certified,” Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated, “which indicates there is a likelihood of a small mistake in 10,000 years.”
The railways had been conducting ground trials for Kavach on passenger services since 2016. As part of the improved technology, radio frequency equipment is put on rail tracks, signalling devices on railway tracks, and train motors to constantly transmit messages back and forth in real time to show that the route upon which the train is running is clear of obstacles.
How does the Kavach system work?
When a train moves a red signal, if it is not allowed to do so, a message is transmitted at danger. In the event where the loco operator fails to manage the train’s speed, ‘Kavach’ manages the speed by applying brakes automatically. Using high-frequency radio contact, it operates on the principles of continual movement updates. It also meets and exceeds the level of safety certification, SIL-4 (Safety Integrity Level – 4).
Additionally, once the system is engaged, all locomotives within a 5-kilometer radius will come to a complete stop to safeguard trains on nearby tracks. According to officials, loco-pilots and assistant loco-pilots typically crane their necks out through the window to look for warning signs and signals.
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It also has fixed devices that collects signalling and loco impulses and relays them to a central server for smooth contact with train crews and junctions.
The first field experiments on passenger trains began in February 2016, and depending on the findings, Kavach’s preliminary standards were finalized in May 2017. As a component of the Atmanirbhar Bharat effort, 2,000 km of train system will be brought under the indigenous world-class technology ‘Kavach’ for security and efficiency enhancement in 2022-23, as declared in the Union Budget for 2022.
Kavach was used on about 1098 line kilometres and 65 locomotives in the South Central Railway’s current initiatives. In addition, “Kavach is proposed to be deployed as part of the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah circuits, which have a maximum path kilometre of over 3000 km, as a part of “the Mission Raftar” initiative that aims to increase speeds to 160 km/h. Tenders are being sought for these projects,: officials said.
What makes the new technology different from Indian Railways’ previous system?
Since 2002, Indian Railways has already been employing the ‘Raksha Kavach’ anti-collision system designed by Konkan Railways. Rajaram Bojji, the former chief of Konkan Railways, established the anti-collision device (ACD).
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While the former technology is still in operation in many Indian Railways trains, the upgraded system will be developed throughout all trains within the next five years. According to senior government officials from the RDSO, the new Kavach program includes everything from railway stations to signalling devices and even train types, whereas the previous ACD or auxiliary warning system solely operates on specific trains and locomotives.
Officials added that the new framework is more precise in transmitting signals to trains and is quicker because it operates in real time while still adopting safety precautions. At the unveiling of the Kavach, railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “The indigenously designed anti-collision technology is SIL4 (Safety Integrity Level 4)-certified, which implies there is a likelihood of a single failure in 10,000 years.”
How much does the rollout cost?
In 2022-23, Indian Railways will deploy the upgraded anti system throughout 2000 train route lines as part of the first phase. It will be deployed subsequently on 3,000 kilometres of the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah routes, where the tracks and systems would be modernised to allow for a high speed of 160 kilometres per hour.
Indian Railways intends to issue contracts to install Kavach across its full 68,446-kilometer network. The budget of Project Kavach is estimated to be approximately Rs 30-50 lakh per km, with a two-to-three-year timeline for private players to deploy the network across the many regions that will be auctioned out.
By 2028, Indian Railways expects to have fully implemented the new anti-collision system throughout all train tracks in the country.
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