An important step towards improving rail safety and operational efficiency has been taken by Indian Railways with the commissioning of the indigenous Kavach Automatic Train Protection system on the Prayagraj-Kanpur portion of the major Delhi-Howrah corridor.
From Prayagraj to Kanpur, a distance of 190 route kilometres, the system is now operational. Between Subedarganj and Manauri, senior officials performed a footplate check, and Train No. 14163 was used for the rollout.
Accidents caused by human mistake can no longer happen thanks to Kavach, which constantly monitors speed and signalling conditions and automatically applies brakes if a train exceeds a dangerous signal. One of the busiest rail lines in India is predicted to be able to accommodate increased operational speeds of up to 160 kmph after its deployment.
In the initial phase, the system will be operational on eight pairs of trains, including services such as the Chauri Chaura Express, with plans to expand coverage to additional trains, including Vande Bharat Express, in the coming months.
Prior to commissioning, thorough experiments were carried out, which included test runs using a 20-coach Vande Bharat rake, a WAP-7 locomotive pulling LHB coaches, and other apparatus. Trials with passengers traversing more than 20,000 km were successfully completed, confirming the reliability of the system.
The government’s rail upgrading strategy relies on Kavach, which was developed under the Make in India program. Sections of the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah corridors, along with about 1,450 route km, have already been upgraded to version 4.0 of the system.
The Ghaziabad-Tundla segment will be the next to receive Kavach technology as part of Mission Raftaar, an initiative by Indian Railways to increase network efficiency, safety, and speed.
