Relevance: GS-3: Infrastructure: Railways ; Science and technology- developments and their applications and effects; Indigenization of technology and developing new technology

Key Phrases: 'Kavach'-Automatic Train Protection System, Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, anti-collision device (ACD), Research, Design and Standards Organization (RDSO), European Train Control System (ETCS).

Why in News?

• Recently, the Indian Railways successfully tested the 'Kavach'-Automatic Train Protection System by making two trains move at full speed towards each other.
• The Kavach system was announced as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative in the 2022 Union Budget.
• Government announced, in 2022-23, approximately 2,000 km of the rail network will be brought under the indigenous system to improve safety and capacity.

Background of anti-collision system development in India:

• The first significant initiative was mooted by Konkan Railways:
  1. It started with an anti-collision device (ACD), an electronic non-signalling system, to eliminate collisions due to human errors.
  2. It has a network of onboard devices for cabs and guard-vans and track-side devices at stations/level crossings.
  3. The devices along the route communicate with each other through radio in a radial range of 3 km.
  4. On board computers use GPS inputs to determine train location, speed and course of travel.
  5. Issues with Konkan railways ACD system system:
  • It was tried out on the NF Railway with moderate success, a hitch being nuisance overrides, causing slowdown of train operation.
  • The bigger issue was that ACD was a black-box for the Railways, with the IPR resting with a lone vendor who was unwilling to share it with the Railways.
• Around 2006, the Railways decided to develop multiple vendors of ACD renaming the systems as train collision avoidance system (TCAS):
  1. Some bold engineers of Research, Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) mooted a change in the philosophy, committing themselves to move far beyond an anti-collision system to develop a modern signalling system akin to ETCS-Level-2.
  2. Besides ACD, the system will have distance-to-go signalling, prevention of collisions and signal passing at danger (SPAD), cab signalling, speed control and enhancement capabilities.
  3. The current status is that it has been proven on a long stretch on South Central Railway to be a versatile system, which would meet the needs of the Railways for decades to come.
  4. The expenditure would be ₹40-50 lakh per route kilometre against ₹2 crore for ETCS-Level-2. To convey that the system is far more than the limited scope of anti-collision, it has been rightly named as Kavach.

Why is 'Kavach' needed?

• Currently, signaling on Indian Railways is based on the absolute block system, which permits only one train between two stations.
• The absolute block system imposes restrictions on line capacity. This system depends entirely on the vigilance of the driver to sight the signals to run a train and are, therefore, prone to human error.
• The issue of adopting intelligent systems which alert the drivers about signals and route data ahead, and override their erroneous actions or inactions, has been under consideration for decades.
• The Indian Railways has pursued modernising its signalling systems with systems like automatic warning system (AWS), a simple system for alerting drivers and auto-braking, and train protection and warning system (TPWS), which is roughly akin to European Train Control System (ETCS)-Level-1.

About 'Kavach':

• It is India's own automatic protection system, which has been in development since 2012 under the name Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) and has been renamed Kavach or "armour."
• It is a collection of electronic devices and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) devices that are installed in locomotives, the signaling system, and the tracks.
• They communicate with one another via ultra-high radio frequencies in order to control train brakes and alert drivers, all based on the logic programmed into them.
• TCAS, also known as Kavach, incorporates key elements from existing and tried-and-tested systems such as the European Train Protection and Warning System and the indigenous Anti Collision Device.
• Kavach, in its current form, adheres to the highest level of safety and reliability standard known as Safety Integrity Level (SIL)4.
• A higher SIL Level indicates a higher level of process hazard, and a higher level of protection is required.
• In its new guise, India wants to position Kavach as an exportable system, a cheaper alternative to the European systems that are popular around the world.
• While Kavach is currently using Ultra High Frequency, work is being done to make it compatible with 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology and to make the product available in global markets.

Conclusion:

• The kavach success needs to be celebrated as it has the promise to save thousands of crores for the country.
• The engineers who worked on the project should be applauded to propel others to emulate them in the field of other sectors and fulfil the aims of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Source: The Hindu BL, Indian Express

Mains Question:

Q. What do you mean by KAVACH? Critically evaluate the significance of KAVACH on the safety and security of India railways. (15 marks).