Kavach installed, from Mumbai Central to Virar

Mumbai's Western Railway has installed the Kavach train protection system, enhancing safety across 735km, aiming for completion by 2024-25.

MUMBAI: As the festival of lights draws near and the city wears a festive look, its railway lines, too, have been adorned with ‘Kavach’, the advanced train protection system. Western Railway (WR) has completed installation of the upgraded signalling and track system from Mumbai Central till Virar.

Kavach installed, from Mumbai Central to Virar

Vineet Abhishek, chief PRO, Western Railway, said that work on installation of Kavach, which offers a range of crucial safety features, is advancing steadily. “The goal for the financial year 2024-25 is to complete installation and trials over 735km of WR network. The construction of tower and laying of Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) on the Mumbai Central-Virar suburban section, spanning 54km, is currently in progress. On the Virar-Surat-Vadodara section, spanning 336km, trials have been completed on 201km.”

Sources said in order to expedite the laying of OFC, WR has adopted the method of Horizontal Directional Drilling, which is faster than the traditional manual trenching method that requires more time and labour. These cables are being laid 3metres below the surface.

WR is also installing Kavach on a 789-km stretch between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, and inside 90 locomotives, making it possible to operate trains at 200kmph.

According to railway officials, out of the 789km, 470km of rail tracks and 60 locomotives have been equipped with Kavach.

Meanwhile, on the 96km Vadodara-Ahmedabad section, trials of Kavach system 4.0 using engines have been successfully completed, and further trials are underway to address any remaining issues. On the Vadodara-Ratlam-Nagda section, similar trials have been completed on 172km out of the total 303km.

Kavach system is meant to ensure that trains operate within permissible speed limits, provide real-time speed supervision, and help drivers maintain control. The system also aids in preventing accidents by displaying signal aspects and acts as a vital safeguard against potential train collisions.