News Analysis India

Tag: Kavach

  • EXPLAINER: All about train protection system ‘Kavach’ that was not available on accident route

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The train accident in Odisha’s Balasore, which killed at least 261 people and injured nearly 1,000, has brought the railways’ automatic train protection system “Kavach” into focus.

    #BharatKaKavachKavach : Automatic Train Protection (ATP) Systems. pic.twitter.com/2XVJYxNCoN
    — East Central Railway (@ECRlyHJP) March 4, 2022
    The railways has said that “Kavach” was not available on the route where the accident occurred on Friday evening.

    Many have been asking this question. The Railways do have an indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System called Kavach, developed by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO). Apparently it hadn’t been installed on the route in which this accident occurred.… https://t.co/XIFdjBpsFU
    — anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) June 3, 2023
    What is Kavach?

    Indian Railways has developed its own automatic train protection system called “Kavach” for enhancing safety of running trains.

    Kavach has been developed indigenously by the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) in association with three Indian vendors.

    Kavach will not only aid loco pilots to avoid signal passing at danger and over-speeding but also help in running trains during inclement weather such as dense fog.

    Thus, Kavach will enhance safety and efficiency of train operations.

    SPAD test, tried crossing signal at red. Kavach is protecting and not allowing the Loco to move.#BharatKaKavach pic.twitter.com/x6Ys9iz9xJ
    — Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) March 4, 2022
    Salient features of Kavach

    – Controls speed of a train by automatic application of brakes in case loco pilot fails to apply the brakes.

    – Repeats line-side signal in cab which is very useful for higher speeds and foggy weather.

    – Works on principle of continuous update of movement authority.

    – Auto whistling at level-crossing gates.

    – Collision avoidance by direct loco to loco communication.

    – Supports feature of SOS in case of any mishap to control train in vicinity.

    Industrialist Anand Mahindra said a thorough initiative is required to examine if Kavach needs any ‘scope enhancement’.

    ALSO READ | Odisha train crash: Toll climbs to 288, initial report blames human error and signal failure

    How does Kavach work?

    The Kavach system depends on electronic and radio frequency devices installed in locomotives, tracks, railway signalling system and every station at a 1 km distance. The system can alert, take control of the brakes and bring train movement to a halt automatically when a loco pilot jumps a signal or notices another train on the same line. The device continuously monitors train movement and sends signals ahead to the locomotives. 

    Has Kavach been tested?

    Railway Minister Vaishnaw had personally tested the ‘Kavach’ system in March 2022. “Rear-end collision testing is successful. Kavach automatically stopped the locomotive before 380 m of other locomotive at the front,” Vaishnaw tweeted.

    Rear-end collision testing is successful.Kavach automatically stopped the Loco before 380m of other Loco at the front.#BharatKaKavach pic.twitter.com/GNL7DJZL9F
    — Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) March 4, 2022
    Trials of Kavach were conducted on the Lingampally-Vikarabad-Wadi and Vikarabad-Bidar sections of South Central Railway, covering a distance of 250 kilometres.

    Following successful trials, three vendors were approved for further developmental orders on the Indian Railways network.

    The total expenditure incurred on the development of Kavach stands at Rs 16.88 crore.

    The roll-out of Kavach on the New Delhi-Howrah and New Delhi-Mumbai sections has a target completion date of March 2024. Further expansion will be based on the experience gained, officials said.

    How many trains/tracks have this system?

    Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on March 29, 2023, that Kavach has been deployed on 1,455 km of the rail route, out of which 576 km is in the state of Maharashtra.

    It is already implemented on 65 locomotives and 134 stations in South Central Railway zone, while implementation on 1200 km is underway.

    NEW DELHI: The train accident in Odisha’s Balasore, which killed at least 261 people and injured nearly 1,000, has brought the railways’ automatic train protection system “Kavach” into focus.

    #BharatKaKavach
    Kavach : Automatic Train Protection (ATP) Systems. pic.twitter.com/2XVJYxNCoN
    — East Central Railway (@ECRlyHJP) March 4, 2022
    The railways has said that “Kavach” was not available on the route where the accident occurred on Friday evening.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Many have been asking this question. The Railways do have an indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System called Kavach, developed by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO). Apparently it hadn’t been installed on the route in which this accident occurred.… https://t.co/XIFdjBpsFU
    — anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) June 3, 2023
    What is Kavach?

    Indian Railways has developed its own automatic train protection system called “Kavach” for enhancing safety of running trains.

    Kavach has been developed indigenously by the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) in association with three Indian vendors.

    Kavach will not only aid loco pilots to avoid signal passing at danger and over-speeding but also help in running trains during inclement weather such as dense fog.

    Thus, Kavach will enhance safety and efficiency of train operations.

    SPAD test, tried crossing signal at red. Kavach is protecting and not allowing the Loco to move.#BharatKaKavach pic.twitter.com/x6Ys9iz9xJ
    — Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) March 4, 2022
    Salient features of Kavach

    – Controls speed of a train by automatic application of brakes in case loco pilot fails to apply the brakes.

    – Repeats line-side signal in cab which is very useful for higher speeds and foggy weather.

    – Works on principle of continuous update of movement authority.

    – Auto whistling at level-crossing gates.

    – Collision avoidance by direct loco to loco communication.

    – Supports feature of SOS in case of any mishap to control train in vicinity.

    Industrialist Anand Mahindra said a thorough initiative is required to examine if Kavach needs any ‘scope enhancement’.

    ALSO READ | Odisha train crash: Toll climbs to 288, initial report blames human error and signal failure

    How does Kavach work?

    The Kavach system depends on electronic and radio frequency devices installed in locomotives, tracks, railway signalling system and every station at a 1 km distance. The system can alert, take control of the brakes and bring train movement to a halt automatically when a loco pilot jumps a signal or notices another train on the same line. The device continuously monitors train movement and sends signals ahead to the locomotives. 

    Has Kavach been tested?

    Railway Minister Vaishnaw had personally tested the ‘Kavach’ system in March 2022. “Rear-end collision testing is successful. Kavach automatically stopped the locomotive before 380 m of other locomotive at the front,” Vaishnaw tweeted.

    Rear-end collision testing is successful.
    Kavach automatically stopped the Loco before 380m of other Loco at the front.#BharatKaKavach pic.twitter.com/GNL7DJZL9F
    — Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) March 4, 2022
    Trials of Kavach were conducted on the Lingampally-Vikarabad-Wadi and Vikarabad-Bidar sections of South Central Railway, covering a distance of 250 kilometres.

    Following successful trials, three vendors were approved for further developmental orders on the Indian Railways network.

    The total expenditure incurred on the development of Kavach stands at Rs 16.88 crore.

    The roll-out of Kavach on the New Delhi-Howrah and New Delhi-Mumbai sections has a target completion date of March 2024. Further expansion will be based on the experience gained, officials said.

    How many trains/tracks have this system?

    Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on March 29, 2023, that Kavach has been deployed on 1,455 km of the rail route, out of which 576 km is in the state of Maharashtra.

    It is already implemented on 65 locomotives and 134 stations in South Central Railway zone, while implementation on 1200 km is underway.

  • Indian Railway turns self-reliant: tests collision preventing system ‘Kavach’

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Indian railway, after years of systematic planning and rounds of track-based trials, has turned self-reliant in preventing head-on collision even when two trains, either out of a possible human error or an abrupt technical failure, come running on the same track.  

    The railway has set off the successful trial and testing of indigenously developed collisions preventing system, colloquially called ‘Kavach’.

    Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, along with Chairman of Railway Board and ministry officials, on Friday, attended a live successful demonstration of an error-free functioning of indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), called ‘Kavach’.

    Furthermore, the Board outlined a plan to take the ‘Kavach’ on a mass scale outside the country as an example of India’s technological advancement and self-reliance.

    Onboarded in an electric loco equipped with ‘Kavach’ for the live demonstration, Vaishnaw said, “Marvellous! Superb! Efficient planning and excellent Execution has made us (Indian Railway) under the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi self-reliant in preventing collision between two trains making the nation Atamnirbhar. That’s great”.

    ‘Kavach’ would be installed across 2000  rail route networks during the current fiscal year of 2022-23 and over 4000-5000 rail route networks in every subsequent year would be brought under this safety system, added Vaishnaw.

    The “Kavach” technology applies the brakes automatically soon after spotting another train coming from the opposite direction on the same track and stops the train at a safe distance.

    As a SIL-4 certified technology, “It also halts the train soon after it jumps the red signal or controls the speed after the train goes beyond the prescribed speed limit,” the minister said.

    “The future plan is to roll it out very rapidly and export it to many other countries,” he said.

    The Kavach has been developed by the Research Design and Standard Organisation (RDSO) in collaboration with three other vendors.

    ‘Kavach” has been deployed on over 1,098 route km and 65 locos running under the South Central Railway after successful trial runs.

    ADGPR Railway Rajiv Jain said that the first field trial of this technology was made on a passenger train in 2015-16 and it was declared as the national automatic train protection system for Indian railways in 2020-21.

    He further added that the RDSO has approved it for the routes of 160 kmph train running services.

    “The railway has given priority for installation of Kavach on high-density routes and on New Delhi-Mumbai and New Delhi-Howrah routes for 160kmph speed limit with automatic block signaling and centralised traffic control systems”, pointed out Jain.

    Further, it would be installed on highly used networks with automatic block signalling systems.

  • Home-grown train collision prevention system ‘Kavach’ to be exported: Vaishnaw

    By PTI

    HYDERABAD: Terming the indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system–‘Kavach’ as a phenomenal improvement in safety and a great contribution to accident prevention, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday said the technology will be implemented over entire rail network in the country and will also be exported to the world in the next coming years, even as he had a first hand experience of the collision aversion mechanism by being part of a live demo here.

    Vaishnaw, who travelled in a locomotive and inspected the working of ‘Kavach’ including on-site demonstration of head-on collision, said it is a major milestone in the history of Indian Railways.

    The highlight of today’s demonstration was the avoidance of the head-on collision by ‘Kavach’ without manual intervention.

    This was demonstrated between Gullaguda, Chitgidda railway stations on Lingampalli, Vikarabad section of Secunderabad Division in South Central Railway (SCR), with Vaishnaw travelling in a locomotive in one direction, while Vinay Kumar Tripathi, Chairman and CEO, Railway Board was travelling in another on the opposite direction on the same track and ‘Kavach’ worked as desired to stop the trains and avert a collision.

    The Minister witnessed how the technology avoids trains passing Signal at Danger, how their speed is automatically regulated while passing through loop lines and how rear-end collision is automatically avoided.

    Kavach, which literally means armour, is being promoted by the Railways as the world’s cheapest automatic train collision protection system.

    Announced in the 2022 Union Budget as a part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, 2,000 km of rail network is planned to be brought under ‘Kavach’ for safety and capacity augmentation in 2022-23.

    “In the budget 2,000 km has been approved and in subsequent years ‘Kavach’ will be deployed in 4,000-5,000 km every year,” Vaishnaw told reporters.

    “Kavach is a very important Automatic Train Protection technology. This is a great technology development and a major step taken by Indian Railways in taking forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative of Atmanirbhar Bharat,” he said.

    It increases passenger safety.

    It is designed, developed and manufactured in India and will be deployed in India and exported to the world, in the coming years.

    “If we bring such a technology from Europe it will cost between Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 2 crore per kilometre to operate while ‘Kavach’, which is indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection system will cost between Rs 40 lakh to Rs 50 lakh per km and is a step ahead when compared to technology offered by other similar system,” he said.

    The target is to install Kavach in 2,000 kms and it will be deployed on Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah corridors initially.

    And in subsequent years ‘Kavach’ will be deployed in 4,000 km to 5,000 km every year, he added.

    Vaishnaw further said 4G spectrum has been allocated to the Railways which will assist in further improving the reliability of train operations.

    He said ‘Kavach’ technology has been tested at SIL-4 (Safety Integrity Level- 4) which is the highest level of safety and integrity.

    “It means during 11,600 years of operation there is a probability of only one error and that is the level of safety and integrity of this system. It has already been tested on high speed at 180 km per hour and subsequent testing beyond 200 kms is also going on,” he said.

    To a query on when the Railways will achieve goal of “zero accidents”, the Minister said there are so many factors on which we have to continuously work on.

    “We have to make sure that our passengers are safe. We have to make sure that every technology which is needed has to be developed and deployed on the railway network. That is the target with which we have to work. This (Kavach) is a great contribution to accident prevention. There are many more things that we have to do in terms of improving the track quality, in terms of improving the coaches and the trains that we travel in”, he said.

    Kavach is designed to bring a train to a halt automatically when it notices another train on the same line within a prescribed distance.

    Trains will also stop on their own when digital system notices any manual error like “jumping” of the red signal or any other malfunction.

    The ‘On-Board Display of Signal Aspect’ (OBDSA) is to help loco pilots check signals on board consoles.

    RFID tags are provided on the tracks and at station yard for each track and signals for track identification, location of trains and identification of train direction.

    Once the system is activated, all trains within a 5-km range will halt to provide protection for trains on adjacent tracks.

    Currently, loco-pilots or assistant loco-pilots usually crane their necks out of the window to look out for caution signs and signals, said officials.

    It also includes stationary equipment to gather signaling and loco inputs and relay them to a central system for seamless communication with the train crew and stations.

    Kavach is developed by Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) in collaboration with Indian industry.

    During the development phase, Kavach was implemented for a length of 264 km covering 25 stations across Wadi, Vikarabad, Sanath Nagar and Vikarabad, Bidar sections over South Central Railway.

    Later, the system has been further extended by additional 936 kms, taking the cumulative deployment of Kavach to 1,200 kms, an SCR release said.

    SCR General Manager Sanjeev Kishore, other senior officials from Railway Board and South Central Railway were present on the occasion.