NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Parliament that the tender for the anti-collision system “Kavach” has been awarded for Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah Corridors, totaling approximately 3000 route km. The work is currently in progress. The Indian Railways is also preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) and detailed estimate for installing Kavach in another 6000 route km, said Union Minister in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
Kavach is a technology-intensive Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system developed indigenously. It assists the loco pilot in maintaining specified speed limits and automatically applies brakes if the pilot fails to do so, ensuring safe train operations even in inclement weather.
Kavach has been effectively implemented on 1465 route km and 121 locomotives, including Electric Multiple Unit rakes, on South Central Railway. Three Indian OEMs( manufacturers ) are currently approved for Kavach, with efforts to develop more vendors for its widespread implementation.
The tragic triple-train accident in Odisha’s Balasore on June 2, which resulted in around 300 fatalities and about 1000 injuries, sparked debates on the importance of anti-collision systems like Kavach. The total amount spent on Kavach implementation so far is Rs 351.91 crores.
