5 more years till Kavach can cover 44,000 kms

Indian Railways aims to deploy the Kavach system on 44,000 kms of tracks to avoid train accidents in the future, according to a media report.

Indian Railway plans to implement this advanced safety system structurally in the next five years, a latest communication by the Railway Ministry to the Cabinet Secretary said.

Kavach is an automatic security system that prevents train accidents. The Indian Railways is currently working on installing the Kavach system on the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah routes.

The tender for an additional 6,000 km of tracks is expected to be issued by the end of this year.

Kavach, is an Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, has been designed by the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) in collaboration with three companies to enhance the safety of Indian Railways.

It uses radio frequency identification tags placed on tracks and railway yards, to monitor track position and train direction.

In an emergency, such as brake failure or the driver ignoring a signal, it gets activated automatically and helps avert an accident by stopping the locomotive.