Railway Minister Tests Kavach System: A Major Step Towards Automated Train Protection

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will travel on a Kavach-fitted train to test the automatic train protection system in Rajasthan. Over the next 45 minutes, the train will undergo trials to ensure it can automatically stop at red signals. Development has been ongoing for eight years, with full operationalization expected by March next year.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is set to test the efficiency of the automatic train protection system, Kavach, by traveling in a Kavach-fitted train on Tuesday afternoon at Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan.

According to railway officials, the trial will commence at 4 pm when Vaishnaw boards the Kavach-equipped engine. The train will travel for 45 minutes to Indargarh Railway station, during which it will operate at different speeds to verify its ability to stop automatically at red signals without manual intervention.

The Kavach system, developed by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), has been in the works for eight years. The Ministry of Railways aims to have it fully operational on the Mumbai-Delhi and Delhi-Kolkata routes by March next year. The system's advanced version, Kavach 4.0, was approved on July 17, 2024, and is designed to address various communication challenges across diverse geographical terrains.

(With inputs from agencies.)