Parliamentary Questions & Answers by Minister for Railways

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Status of Kavach installation

QUESTION

(a) The status of roll-out of #Kavach, the indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System (#TCAS) across the Indian Railways;
(b) The estimated amount required for Kavach installation across the country and by when installation will be completed;
(c) The details of the budgetary allocation earmarked for Kavach in interim budget 2024-25; and
(d) Whether #government intends to allocate more funds to provide Kavach across the country considering the recent train mishap incidents?

ANSWER

(a) to (d):

Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (#ATP) system. Kavach is a highly technology intensive system, which 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 #LocoPilot fails to do so and also helps the train to run safely during inclement weather.

Implementation of Kavach involves execution of many activities, such as:

  • Installation of Station Kavach at each and every station.
  • Installation of #RFID tags throughout the track length.
  • Installation of Telecom Towers throughout the section.
  • Laying of optical Fibre cable along the track.
  • Provision of Loco Kavach on each and every Locomotive running on Indian Railways.

The implementation of Kavach started after 2014. Before 2014, the progress of Kavach on Indian Railways was nil.

Kavach has so far been deployed on 1465 Route km and 144 locomotives on #SouthCentralRailway.

Presently, the progress of main items related to Kavach on Delhi-Mumbai & Delhi-Howrah corridors (approx 3000 Route km) is as under:

  • Laying of Optical Fibre Cable: 4275 Km
  • Installation of Telecom Towers: 364 Nos.
  • Provision of equipment at Stations: 285 Nos.
  • Provision of equipment in Loco: 319 Locos
  • Installation of Track side equipments: 1384 RKm.

Indian Railways has also prepared Detailed Project Report (#DPR) and Detailed Estimate on another 6000 RKm.

On 16.07.2024, Kavach 4.0 specification has been approved by #RDSO. This version covers all the major features required for the diverse railway network. This is a significant milestone in safety for #IndianRailways. Within a short period, #IR has developed, tested and started deploying Automatic Train Protection System.

To increase capacity and scale up implementation, trials and approval of more #OEMs are at different stages.

The Cost for provision of Track side including Station equipment of Kavach is approximately ₹50 lakhs/Km and cost for provision of Kavach equipment on loco is approximately ₹70 lakh/loco.

The funds utilized on Kavach works so far is ₹1216.77 Crore. The allocation of funds during the year 2024-25 is ₹1112.57 Crore.