Indian Railways has developed its own Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System called KAVACH meaning SHIELD for enhancing safety of running trains. KAVACH has been developed indigenous by Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) in association with three Indian vendors and it has been adopted as National Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System. Initial development of Kavach started in 2012 under the name Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS). The Kavach system is a safety integrity level 4 (SIL-4) certified technology. The system consists of a set of electronic devices and radio frequency identification devices installed in locomotives, tracks, railway signalling system and every stations at 1 km distance. The system currently communicates with its components via ultra high radio frequencies while development of 4G LTE based system is underway. Kavach alerts when an engineer jumps signal (Signal Passed at Danger -SPAD), which is the main cause for train collisions. The system can alert the engineer and take control of the brakes and bring train movement to a halt automatically when it notices another train on the same line within a prescribed distance. The device continuously monitor train movement and send signals ahead to the locomotives, which is helpful during adverse weather conditions such as fog. The Kavach incorporates key characteristics of European Train Control System and Indian Anti-collision device.
A live demonstration of working of Kavach happened on March 4, 2022 between Gullaguda and Chitgidda railway stations in Secunderabad Division. Indian Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was travelling in a locomotive in one direction, while Vinay Kumar Tripathi, Chairman and CEO, Railway Board was travelling in another locomotive on the opposite direction on the same track. Kavach system on detecting the locos on same track, applied brakes automatically, thus avoided collision.
The Kavach is already implemented on 65 locomotives,1445 km route and 134 stations in South Central Railway zone, while implementation on 1200 km is underway.
Facebook
Twitter
Google+
Pinterest
Please log in to your account or sign up to like this picture or leave a comment
A live demonstration of working of Kavach happened on March 4, 2022 between Gullaguda and Chitgidda railway stations in Secunderabad Division. Indian Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was travelling in a locomotive in one direction, while Vinay Kumar Tripathi, Chairman and CEO, Railway Board was travelling in another locomotive on the opposite direction on the same track. Kavach system on detecting the locos on same track, applied brakes automatically, thus avoided collision.
The Kavach is already implemented on 65 locomotives,1445 km route and 134 stations in South Central Railway zone, while implementation on 1200 km is underway.