In a groundbreaking move, Indian Railways has granted approval to multinational corporations, Siemens from Germany and Kyosan from Japan, to install the indigenous Kavach automatic train collision avoidance system on its network. The deployment of Kavach is set to increase to 5,000 kilometers per year by the financial year 2025-26, up from the current 1,500 kilometers annually.
Last year, tenders were awarded for the installation of Kavach over 3,000 kilometers, with significant progress, and bids for another 2,500 kilometers are expected to be awarded soon. By March 2025, the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah railway routes, the busiest in the country, will be fully equipped with the anti-train collision system.
Kavach, developed indigenously by the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) in collaboration with the Indian industry, is a cost-effective Safety Integrity Level 4 (SIL-4) certified technology. This Automatic Train Protection system aims to prevent train collisions by automatically engaging the braking mechanism if a train exceeds designated speed limits and the driver fails to intervene.
Until now, only three companies – Medha Servo Drives, HBL Power Systems, and Kernex Microsystems – had the rights to deploy Kavach. However, with the recent approvals, Indian Railways’ capability to install Kavach will significantly increase. This open-source technology requires deploying companies to develop their systems according to specifications provided by Indian Railways.
Looking ahead, the next generation of Kavach will incorporate Long-Term Evolution (LTE) technology (4G and 5G), with tenders set to be awarded for upgrading existing networks and deploying the technology over longer routes in the next fiscal year.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw addressed concerns about potential conflicts impacting the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and assured that the Israel-Hamas conflict would not affect the IMEC corridor plan.
In addition to railway safety measures, Vaishnaw highlighted progress in capital expenditure, Gati Shakti Cargo terminals, and projected increased footfall on Indian Railways.
