Consider the following statements:

I. Indian Railways have prepared a National Rail Plan (NRP) to create a future-ready railway system by 2028.   

II. ‘Kavach’ is an Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system developed in collaboration with Germany.  

III. ‘Kavach’ system consists of RFID tags fitted on tracks in station sections.   

Which of the above statements given above are not correct? 

  • I and II only 
  • II and III only   
  • I and III only   
  • I, II and III   

Answer: (a) I and II only

  • The Indian Railways has undertaken two major initiatives: the National Rail Plan (NRP) and the ‘Kavach’ Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system. Both are designed to modernize and secure the railway infrastructure and operations.
  • The National Rail Plan (NRP) has been developed with the aim of creating a ‘future ready’ railway system by the year 2030, not 2028. The plan intends to meet future demand (both passenger and freight) up to 2050, and to increase the modal share of railways in freight transport to 45%. It includes investment planning, capacity building, and infrastructure upgrades.
  • ‘Kavach’ is an indigenous ATP system developed by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) under Indian Railways. There is no German collaboration involved in its creation.
  • The Kavach system uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags placed on the railway tracks, especially in station sections. These tags work in coordination with onboard and trackside equipment to detect train location, and automatically apply brakes in case of collision threats, signal violations, or overspeeding.
‘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.