Indian Railways Kavach system: Indian Railways is making rapid progress in implementing ‘Kavach,’ an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, across its network. Recently, the national transporter conducted Kavach locomotive trials at a speed of 160 kmph in the Prayagraj Division.
The Prayagraj Division comes under the administrative control of North Central Railway (NCR) zone. The division forms a crucial part of the Delhi-Howrah rail route.
Kavach on Delhi-Howrah route
In a statement, the North Central Railway zone said: “In a significant step towards enhancing train safety and high-speed operations on North Central Railway, KAVACH Loco Trials were successfully conducted today at a speed of 160 Kmph using a WAP-5 Light Engine for the finalization of braking parameters in the MTI–MXK section (57.23 TKM) of Prayagraj Division.”
The trials were held between Mitawali and Mandrak sub section of Tundla-Aligarh section. The trial commenced from Mitalwali Station at 12:22 hrs and concluded at 16:45 hrs, covering both UP and DN directions of the section.
Kavach Loco trial run on Delhi-Howrah route: Key objectives
The Kavach Loco trial run on Tundla-Aligarh section is aimed to validate the performance and precision of the indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system – KAVACH under high-speed operational conditions.
Two critical test scenarios were carried out during the trial:
Loop Line Speed Control Test
In this test, Home signals were taken ‘off’ with route indicators for the first loop line . The locomotive was run at 160 Kmph, and KAVACH automatically controlled the speed before entering the loop line— without any manual braking or pilot intervention .
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Results :
KAVACH effectively controlled the loco speed as follows:
- 28 Kmph – BRN UP Loop Line
- 25 Kmph – PORA UP Loop Line
- 28 Kmph – PORA DN Loop Line
- 25 Kmph – BRN DN Loop Line
This validated KAVACH’s precision in regulating train speed in restricted zones, ensuring smooth entry into loop lines.
SPAD Prevention Test at Home Signal
In this critical safety test, Home signals were maintained at the ‘ON’ (Red) aspect . The locomotive was made to approach these signals at 160 Kmph, allowing KAVACH to automatically detect the SPAD (Signal Passed at Danger) condition and apply braking to stop the train safely— without any manual intervention.
Results :
KAVACH successfully halted the locomotive before the Home Signal in each test scenario:
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- 32 meters before CMR UP Home Signal
- 67 meters before HRS UP Home Signal
- 36 meters before JLS DN Home Signal
- 37 meters before MTI DN Home Signal
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