The Indian Railways has invited bids for astir 15,000 km, covering the Golden Quadrilateral, Golden Diagonal, and different high-density routes, of which contracts for 14,954 km person been awarded for implementing the latest mentation of the indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) strategy - Kavach mentation 4.0.
South Central Railway (SCR), which had earlier deployed Kavach mentation 3.2 connected 1,465 km, played a cardinal relation successful its improvement and consequent improvements, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Rajya Sabha.
The Lucknow-based Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) approved mentation 4.0 past year, paving the mode for implementation. The caller mentation offers enhanced determination accuracy, improved accusation connected awesome aspects successful larger yards, station-to-station Kavach interface connected optical fibre cablegram (OFC), and nonstop interface with the existing physics interlocking system.
Version 4.0 underwent extended trials and has been commissioned connected the 324-km Mathura-Kota section, the archetypal to beryllium cleared by the Independent Safety Assessor (ISA) successful July this year. A parallel task to equip 10,000 locomotives with Kavach is underway.
SCR has besides announced plans to upgrade 1,400 km of Kavach 3.2 to mentation 4.0 and instal it afresh connected 1,618 km. The Indian Railways Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications (IRISET), Secunderabad, has trained much than 30,000 technicians, operators, and engineers for the system, Mr. Vaishnaw said.
So far, 69 loco sheds person been prepared to person Kavach. The outgo of trackside equipment, including presumption installations, is astir ₹50 lakh per km, portion the outgo per locomotive is astir ₹80 lakh.
According to the Minister’s presumption study up to July-end, 5,867 km of OFC has been laid, 629 telecom towers erected, 708 presumption Kavach installed, 1,290 locomotives equipped, and 4,005 km of trackside systems commissioned. About ₹2,015 crore has been spent truthful far, with an allocation of ₹1,673.19 crore for the existent year.
Key features of Kavach
Assists loco pilots successful maintaining velocity limits done automatic brake application
Enhances information successful adverse upwind conditions
First tract trials began successful February 2016
Three firms approved arsenic suppliers successful 2018–19
Adopted arsenic India’s National ATP strategy successful July 2020
Uses RFID tags, telecom towers, OFC, and station- and loco-based systems
