According to Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Communications, Electronics and Information Technology and Railways, the Ministry of Railways is planning to upgrade indigenous anti-collision system Kavach to long-term evolution (LTE)-based (4G/5G) and expedite its implementation.
Kavach is an indigenously developed automatic train protection (ATP) system. The state-of-the-art electronic system activates the train’s braking system automatically if the driver fails to do so, and prevents the collision between two locomotives equipped with functional Kavach systems.
Vaishnaw added that the tenders for the next-gen Kavach will be rolled out in May to June 2024, while the tender to upgrade the existing Kavach technology to LTE will be floated by December 2023. The need to upgrade Kavach comes as the ministry has been looking to update all its outdated communication systems and make anti-collision more efficient and effective over longer range.
Meanwhile, there has been a significant push to enable 5G-based operations in the Indian Railways, which would lead to an upgrade in several outdated methods, particularly in communication. The national transporter was allotted a 5 MHz spectrum in the 700 MHz band in June 2021, with a commitment to invest Rs 250 billion for the development of LTE over the following five years.
