Kavach, Indian technology to prevent two speeding trains from colliding

Two trains on the same track sped up to full speed and met. A Union minister was on one of the trains. The two locomotives did not collide, however, thanks to ‘Kavach.’

On Friday, Kavach, an Indian Railways-developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, lived true to its name by passing a major anti-collision test with flying colours.

Kavach is India’s own automatic protection system, which has been under development since 2012 under the name Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) and has now been renamed Kavach, which means “armour.”

In laymen, it is a system of electronic devices and Radio Frequency Identification devices installed in locomotives, signalling systems, and railroad tracks that communicate with one another using ultra high radio frequencies to control train brakes and alert drivers, all based on logic programmed into them.

One of its advantages is that it may send out triggers when a loco pilot jumps a signal, known as Signal Passed at Danger (SPAD), which is a serious safety violation in railway operations and the cause of mishaps like collisions. The gadgets also continuously broadcast signals to the locomotive, which is beneficial to loco pilots in low visibility, particularly during dense fog.

The successful test of the anti-collision technology is shown in a minute-long film. The video opens with Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw explaining how the train he is riding on is on the same track as another train travelling in the opposite direction.

The train grinds to a standstill when it tries to circumvent the stop signal, and Vaishnaw claims the Kavach system prevents locomotives from moving forward.

When a signal is crossed at hazard (SPAD) or when a train crosses a stop-signal when it is not allowed to, this system activates. In the event that the loco pilot fails to do so, Kavach controls the train’s speed by applying brakes automatically.

India now aims to market Kavach as an exportable system, a less expensive alternative to the European systems that are popular around the world. While Kavach now employs Ultra High Frequency (UHF), work is underway to make it compatible with 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology and to commercialise the product globally. Work is underway to make the system interoperable with other systems already in use around the world.

The system is being developed by the Lucknow-based Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) in collaboration with private manufacturers. India wants more private companies to participate in the research and manufacture of subseauents. It may be the world’s cheapest Automatic Train Protection System once scaled out, with a rollout cost of roughly Rs 30 lakh to 50 lakh per kilometre, about a fourth of the cost of comparable systems globally.