Indian Railways Pushes Ahead with Kavach ATP System Installation

The Indian Railways has allocated Rs 1,112.57 crore for the installation of the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system Kavach in the financial year 2024-25. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw highlighted the importance and progress of the Kavach system, an indigenously developed technology aimed at enhancing safety across various railway routes.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced an allocation of Rs 1,112.57 crore for the installation of the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system Kavach in the financial year 2024-25.

Answering inquiries from DMK MPs Kanimozhi Karunanidhi and Rani Srikumar, Vaishnaw disclosed that so far Rs 1,216.77 crore has been utilized for Kavach works. He emphasized the importance of Kavach, describing it as an indigenously developed technology that aids loco pilots by automatically applying brakes if they fail to do so and ensuring safe operation even during adverse weather conditions.

The minister detailed the multi-faceted implementation of Kavach, which includes the installation of Station Kavach, RFID tags, telecom towers, and optical fiber cables. To date, Kavach has been deployed on 1,465 route km and 144 locomotives on South Central Railway, with significant progress also reported on the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah corridors.

Further, he announced that Detailed Project Reports (DPR) and Detailed Estimates for another 6,000 route km have been prepared, and the Kavach 4.0 specification has been approved. Vaishnaw emphasized that trials and approvals of more Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are ongoing to scale up implementation.

(With inputs from agencies.)