Central Railway to Deploy First Kavach System on CSMT-Howrah Route

The first Kavach system on Central Railway is set to be deployed along the CSMT-Howrah route. Swapnil Neela, the chief public relations officer (CPRO) of Central Railway (CR), stated that currently, the Kavach system is absent within CR's jurisdiction. The process of tendering for its implementation on the CSMT-Howrah line is underway. Neela mentioned that a specific timeline for the system's activation cannot be provided at this moment.

Kavach, an advanced electronic railway safety system, has been designed to mitigate train accidents caused by signal failures or overspeeding. It continuously monitors and updates the safe distance for train travel. If a locomotive pilot is unable to apply brakes manually, the system automatically initiates braking procedures. Currently, trains operate on two routes connecting CSMT to Howrah.

According to a report of TOI, One is via Nagpur. The other is via Itarsi. The jurisdiction of CR for the first route is till Nagpur and for the second route, CR’s jurisdiction ends at Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh. A majority of trains from CSMT to Howrah ply via Nagpur. The Kavach system is expected to be installed on both these routes on priority,” another railway official said.

Officials from the Pune railway division indicated they had not received any information from higher authorities regarding the installation of the Kavach system within their division. However, they noted that once the system becomes operational in the Central Railway jurisdiction, long-distance trains originating from Pune towards the east would experience its benefits.