Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that ₹1,112.57 crore has been allocated for installing the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, Kavach, for the financial year 2024-25. He shared this information in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Response to Questions
The response was to questions from DMK MPs Kanimozhi Karunanidhi and Rani Srikumar regarding the funds allocated and used for installing the Kavach system in India. Vaishnaw stated, “So far, ₹1,216.77 crore has been spent on Kavach works. For the year 2024-25, ₹1,112.57 crore has been allocated.”
Kavach is an indigenously developed ATP system that requires high-level safety certification. It helps the loco pilot run trains within specified speed limits by automatically applying brakes if the pilot fails to do so. It also ensures safe train operation during bad weather, Vaishnaw explained.
Implementation Process of Kavach
The minister detailed the implementation process of Kavach, which involves several activities like installing Station Kavach at each station, placing RFID tags along the tracks, setting up Telecom Towers throughout the sections, laying optical fiber cable along the tracks, and providing Loco Kavach on each locomotive running on Indian Railways.
Vaishnaw mentioned that Kavach has already been deployed on 1,465 route kilometers and 144 locomotives on the South Central Railway.
Progess Update
Updating on the progress of Kavach installation on the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah corridors (approximately 3,000 route kilometers), Vaishnaw said that optical fiber cable has been laid over 4,275 kilometers, and 364 telecom towers have been installed. Kavach equipment has been installed on 285 stations, 319 locomotives, and 1,384 kilometers of rail track.
Detailed Project Reports (DPR)
The Indian Railways has also prepared Detailed Project Reports (DPR) and estimates for another 6,000 route kilometers. On July 16, 2024, RDSO approved the Kavach 4.0 specification, which covers all major features needed for the diverse railway network.
“This is a significant milestone in safety for Indian Railways. In a short period, Indian Railways has developed, tested, and started deploying the ATP system,” Vaishnaw said. He added that Kavach is being progressively provided in phases. To increase capacity and scale up implementation, trials and approval of more Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are at different stages.
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