Lok Sabha Question No. 423 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-07-24
Subject: KAVACH System in Indian Railways
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Anand Bhadauria

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 423 TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.07.2024

## KAVACH SYSTEM IN INDIAN RAILWAYS

423.  SHRI ANAND BHADAURIA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  railway  accidents  took  place  in  the  country during  2022-23,  2023-24  and  2024-25,  along  with  number  of passengers  died/injured  in  these  accidents,  year  and  zonewise;
- (b) the  number  of  persons  died  in  collision  of  Kanchanjunga Express with a goods train in Darjeeling district in June, 2024 along with the ex-gratia paid to victims of accident;
- (c) the  reasons  for  non-installation  of  anti-  collision  device, KAVACH on each route/train of Railways; and
- (d) the details of fund allocated, released and utilized for installation  of  KAVACH  system  in  Indian  Railways  during 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 2023-24, year and zone-wise?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 423 BY SHRI ANAND BHADAURIA TO BE ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  24.07.2024  REGARDING  KAVACH SYSTEM IN INDIAN RAILWAYS

(a)  :  As  a  consequence of various safety measures taken over the years, there has been a steep decline in the number of accidents. Consequential Train Accidents have reduced from 473 in 2000-01 to 40 in 2023-24 as shown in the graph below.

It  may  noted  that  the  consequential  train  accidents  during  the period  2004-14  was  1711  (average  171  per  annum),  which  has declined to 678 during the period 2014-24 (average 68 per annum).

Another important index showing improved safety in train operations  is  Accidents  Per  Million  Train  Kilometer  (APMTKM) which  has  reduced  from  0.65  in  2000-01  to  0.03  in  2023-24, indicating an improvement of more than 95% during the said period.

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(b): In the accident of Kanchanjunga Express which took place over Katihar Division of Northeast Frontier Railway on 17.06.2024, total 08 passengers lost their lives. Enhanced ex-gratia payment of @ Rs. 10 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased was made. An exgratia amount of Rs. 2.5 lakh each to grievously injured and Rs. 50 thousand each to simply injured have also been paid. A total amount of Rs. 1.70 Crores has been paid as ex-gratia till 16.07.2024.

## (c)& (d):

1. Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection  (ATP)  system.  Kavach  is  a  highly  technology intensive system, which requires safety certification of highest order.
2. Kavach  aids  the  loco  pilot  in  train  running  within  specified speed limits by automatic application of brakes in case Loco Pilot  fails  to  do  so  and  also  help  the  train  safely  run  during inclement weather.
3. Implementation of Kavach involves execution of many activities, such as:
4. a.
5. Installation of Station Kavach at each and every station.
6. b.
7. c.
8. d.
9. Installation of RFID tags throughout the track length.
10. Installation of Telecom Towers throughout the section.
11. Laying of optical Fibre cable along the track.
- e. Provision of Loco Kavach on each and every Locomotive running on Indian Railways.
4. Kavach has so far been deployed on 1465 Route km and 144 locomotives (including Electric Multiple Unit rakes) on South Central Railway.
5. Presently,  the  progress  of  main  items  related  to  Kavach  on Delhi-  Mumbai  &  Delhi-  Howrah  corridors  (approximately 3000 Route km) is as under:
15. (i)
16. (ii)
17. Laying of Optical Fibre Cable: 4275 Km
18. Installation of Telecom Towers: 364 Nos.
19. (iii) Provision of Kavach equipment at Stations: 285 Nos.
20. (iv)
21. Provision of Kavach equipment in Loco: 319 Locos
22. (v) Installation  of  Kavach  Track  side  equipments  :  1384 Route Km.
6. Indian  Railways  has  also  prepared  Detailed  Project  Report (DPR) and Detailed Estimate on another 6000 RKm.
7. On 16.07.2024, Kavach 4.0 specification has been approved by RDSO. This version covers all the major features required for the diverse railway network. This is a significant milestone in safety for Indian Railways. Within a short period, IR  has  developed,  tested  and  started  deploying  Automatic Train Protection System.

The funds utilized on Kavach works so far is Rs 1216.77 Crores. The allocation  of  funds  during  the  year  2024-25  is  Rs  1112.57 Crores.

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