Mumbai-Chennai rail route to get Kavach 4.0 soon

Mumbai-Chennai trains will soon get the Kavach 4.0 safety system. Tenders for installation are underway, with plans for nationwide rollout

Mumbai: Trains on the Mumbai-Chennai route will soon be equipped with Kavach 4.0, an advanced Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, enhancing safety on this high-density rail route. The decision was taken a week after Kavach 4.0 was tested on the Kota-Sawai Madhopur route.

Trains on the Mumbai-Chennai route will soon be equipped with Kavach 4.0, an advanced Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system. Representational Image, (HT File)

The Mumbai-Chennai route will be the second railway route to feature Kavach 4.0 that involves Mumbai, after work to install the system on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad-Delhi route got underway recently. Sources in the Indian Railways said tenders have been called for the Mumbai-Chennai route.

A technology-intensive system developed indigenously, Kavach 4.0 aids the loco pilot in operating the train within specified speed limits by the automatic application of brakes in case the loco pilot fails to do so. It also helps the train run safely during inclement weather. This will reduce the probability of train collisions in block sections and on running lines at stations.

“Each zone will call for tenders to install Kavach 4.0 in their respective areas. These are high-density rail routes on which deployment of Kavach has been undertaken. We plan to roll out this system across the country’s rail network in the next few years. Tenders have also been called for the installation of Kavach inside 10,000 locomotives,” said a railway official.

The CR has floated tenders worth ₹140 crore for the installation of this system. This includes the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus to Kasara/Karjat/Panvel routes. These routes also service Mumbai suburban train services. However, since Kavach requires technology to be installed along the railway tracks as well as inside locomotives, only long-distance trains will be covered in this phase. Locomotives on CR’s suburban section will follow soon.

“We will begin work on the suburban section of Mumbai in less than two months. Work will involve installing RFID tags on the tracks at every station, laying optical fibre cables along the tracks, building telecom towers, and installing equipment in every locomotive,” said a senior CR official. The railway will simultaneously start work in the Pune and Solapur divisions. All three divisions, including Mumbai, will cost around ₹350 crore.

Currently, work is underway on the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah routes, spanning 3,000 km. Senior railway officials said the installation of Kavach will be completed on these two routes within this financial year.

Western Railway began installing Kavach 3.2, an earlier version, on the Mumbai-Delhi corridor as part of its work to operate 160-kmph, semi-high-speed trains in the near future. WR will upgrade to Kavach 4.0 on the Kota-Sawai Madhopur route, covering 108 km.