Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday reviewed the progress of Kavach, the indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system of Indian Railways, with a focus on accelerating its nationwide deployment and enhancing operational efficiency through advanced technologies.
The review meeting highlighted key technological upgrades aimed at strengthening the safety and reliability of train operations.
Technological Boost to Kavach System
Indian Railways has introduced several cutting-edge advancements under the Kavach system. A major development is the Universal Braking Algorithm (UBA), which standardises braking curves across different manufacturers. This ensures interoperability and eliminates the need for repetitive trials, thereby speeding up implementation.
In addition, improvements in baseline software, AI-driven design automation, and integration interfaces for locomotives, interlocking systems, and track machinery are enhancing the robustness of the system.
A key innovation under development is “Suraksha”, an AI-based centralised monitoring platform. Designed as a unified operations management system, it will enable real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance. The platform will also alert traffic controllers to unusual events, allowing timely intervention and improving overall safety.
Significant Progress Achieved
Kavach has already been installed on 3,103 route kilometres across the network, while work is currently underway on 24,427 route kilometres, including high-density and high-utilisation corridors.
Under the rollout of Kavach Version 4.0: 1,638 route kilometres have been commissioned on key routes such as Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah corridors; recently, 190 route kilometres were commissioned on the Prayagraj–Kanpur section of the Delhi–Howrah high-density corridor; and trackside installation work is ongoing on 7,100 route kilometres.
Supporting infrastructure has also seen rapid expansion:
* Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) laid over 8,921 km
* 1,183 telecom towers installed
* Kavach data centres established across 767 stations
In terms of rolling stock, Kavach has been installed on 4,277 locomotives, while work is in progress on an additional 8,979 locomotives.
Expansion Plans Ahead
The Railway Ministry noted that Kavach deployment is a complex and technology-intensive process. However, plans are in place to significantly scale up implementation.
The Ministry said that Indian Railways aims to expand the Kavach network by 9,000 route kilometres over the next two years, with a target to increase installation capacity to 10,000 route kilometres per year thereafter.
