Kavach, an indigenously developed automatic train protection system, has been deployed in three sections in South Central Railway zone along with 139 locomotives, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav informed the Lok Sabha on December 6.
Mr. Vaishnaw responded to questions raised by two Congress MPs from Kerala — Benny Behanan and Kumbakudi Sudhakaran — on the total number of sections and length under various railway zones that are covered by Kavach.
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"Kavach has so far been deployed on 1,465 route km and 139 locomotives [including Electric Multiple Unit rakes] on South Central Railway...," Mr. Vaishnaw said in a written response.
These sections are Lingamapalli-Vikarabad-Wadi and Vikarabad-Bidar section (265 Rkm); Manmad-Mudkhed-Dhone-Guntkal section (959 Rkm) and Bidar-Parbhani section (241Rkm).
Mr. Vaishnaw said that Kavach is an indigenously developed automatic train protection system which is highly technology intensive and requires safety certification of highest order.
"Kavach aids the loco pilot in train running within specified speed limits by automatic application of brakes in case loco pilot fails to do so and also helps the train safely run during inclement weather,” he added.
The Indian Railways adopted Kavach as a national ATP system in July 2020 after the first field trials on passenger trains in February 2016.
"Based on the experience so gained and independent safety assessment of the system by a third party [Independent Safety Assessor: ISA] three firms were approved in 2018-19 for supply of Kavach," Mr. Vaishnaw said.
He added, “Presently there are three Indian OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) who are approved for Kavach. Efforts are being made to develop more OEMs to enhance the capacity and scale up the implementation of Kavach.” Besides the three sections in which the ATP is operational, Vaishnaw also stated that presently Kavach tenders have been awarded for Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah corridors of approximately 3,000 Route km and the work is in progress on these routes.
“Indian Railways has also taken up preparatory works including survey, detailed project report (DPR) and preparation of detailed estimate on another 6,000 RKm,” he said.
On the question of giving priority to basic safety measures, Mr. Vaishnaw highlighted a number of steps which the railways has taken to ensure safe train operations in the country.
Prominent among them are introduction of electronic interlocking systems, provisions for interlocking of level crossing gates, complete track circuiting of stations and equipping locomotives with vigilance control devices to ensure alertness of loco pilots among many others.
