Mumbai’s suburban trains will be equipped with Kavach by the end of 2025. It is a modern safety system to improve passenger safety. As per reports, work to install Kavach on western railway routes has already started. They plan to complete the installation on all suburban trains and mainline engines by the end of next year.
Almost 30 lakh people use Western Railway’s (WR) suburban services every day. It operates over 1,400 train services on the Churchgate-Virar-Dahanu route with a fleet of 110 electric multiple units. The railway plans to install Kavach on more than 2,358 kilometres of track by 2025.
Kavach is an automatic train protection system. It will replace the Auxiliary Warning System, which is currently used in trains as a safety tool. Here is the difference between the two:Feature | Auxiliary Warning System (AWS) | Kavach (Automatic Train Protection System) |
Type | Onboard warning and monitoring system | Advanced automatic train protection system |
Signal Response | Gives audio-visual warning of signal aspect | Automatically applies brakes if red signal is passed |
Brake Mechanism | Brakes applied only if motorman fails to press vigilance button in 4 secs | Auto-braking in case of overspeed or red signal breach |
Driver Involvement | Relies on manual response (vigilance button) | Minimal manual input; fully automatic intervention |
Risk Coverage | Limited; may fail in signal passed at danger (SPAD) situations | Designed to prevent SPAD, head-on and rear-end collisions |
Speed Monitoring | Alerts motorman on speed | Constant real-time speed monitoring and auto-correction |
Visibility Adaptation | No specific adaptation for low visibility | In-cab signalling for safe operations in low-visibility conditions |
Communication | No real-time communication with signal stations | Real-time communication between train and signal system |
Automation Level | Low automation | High automation |
Emergency Response | Delayed; depends on motorman reaction | Immediate emergency braking and faster response |