Western Railway (WR) is gearing up to deploy the indigenous KAVACH technology on the Virar-Vadodara-Ahmedabad-Nagda section, spanning 735km, by year-end.
22% of safety infrastructure completed
Achieving around 22% completion, WR has commissioned KAVACH safety infrastructure over a 160km stretch, with locomotive trials covering nearly 170km. The cost of this project is around Rs315 crore.
"The KAVACH system, also known as the Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) or Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, holds SIL4 certification, denoting Safety Integrity Level 4,” said an official.
Features of new system
One of its key features is the automatic halting of train movement upon sensing another train within a designated distance, addressing manual errors and malfunctions with a proactive safety approach, the official said. The entire project is slated for completion within the current year.
The TCAS system, an integral component of KAVACH, provides continuous updates on movement authority, indicating the permissible distance a train can travel without danger. In emergency scenarios, automatic brake applications act as a fail-safe mechanism when crew intervention is either lacking or impossible. Real-time information, including speed, location, distance to signals, and signal aspects, is relayed to loco pilots, ensuring a comprehensive and responsive safety framework.
According to WR officials, TCAS prevents Signal Passing at Danger (SPAD) cases and addresses unsafe situations stemming from overspeed and collisions, particularly in station areas and block sections.
