Railways’ Kavach tech can be exported in five years
Indian Railways is gearing up to install Kavach technology in its entire network of 68,000 route km, Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw has said. He added that the indigenously developed technology also has the potential to be exported in five years.
“In 2024, we will install Kavach in 2,500 km route.
And from 2025 onward, we will be deploying it in 5,000 km every year till we cover our entire rail network of 68,000 km,” Vaishnaw told ET in an interview. He said large electronics and telecom equipment manufacturers have shown willingness to manufacture Kavach in India, which will boost the overall capacity of the industry.
“As Kavach is effective, easy to implement and less costly, it will have a huge potential for export five years from now,” the minister said.
Kavach, first piloted on a passenger train in 2016, provides protection to trains against signal passing, excessive speed, and collisions, thereby mitigating any chance of error on the part of a loco.
Read More: How well can Kavach protect you during your train travel?
“The train drivers are giving a huge thumbs up to this technology,” the minister said, adding that neither the driver nor Kavach (had it been installed) could have prevented Balasore, referring to the deadly train accident in Odisha in June that killed 296 people.
“Balasore was a sabotage,” he asserted.
Kavach is currently operational in 1,465 km of South Central Railway while it is being installed in another 3,000 km in DelhiMumbai and Delhi-Kolkata sections. Whereas three approved manufacturers – Medha Servo Drives, HBL Power Systems and Kernex Microsystems – are currently supplying the devices, two more private companies--Bengaluru-headquartered GG Tronics and Mohali-based QFTL are
