East Coast Railway (ECoR) plans to install Kavach, train collision avoidance system, an official said.

The Kavach system will be installed between Ranital (Bhadrak) in Odisha and Duvvada (Visakhapatnam) in Andhra Pradesh, an important part of the Howrah-Chennai main line covering a distance of 595 km.

“Tenders have been invited for survey, design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of Kavach equipment, as well as other associated works, with an estimated value of approximately Rs 280 crore,” an official statement said.

Installation of Kavach, the indigenous train collision avoidance system, is a top priority set by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to enhance safety on busy and critical railway corridors.

“A detailed estimate is underway to install Kavach in the remaining sections of the ECoR. It also focuses on modern signaling and interlocking systems to minimize human error,” it said.

Kavach, an indigenously developed automatic train protection (ATP) system, is designed to prevent train collisions and ensure increased operational safety.

“Once installed, it will offer automatic braking, speed control and will help avoid human error, especially in emergency situations. The project will include installation of equipment on tracks, Level Crossing (LC) gates and at railway stations along the specified section , with separate towers for the system being built up at a later stage,” it said.

Once the installation of the infrastructure is complete, Kavach devices will be integrated into trains running in this busy corridor, ensuring real-time communication between trains, stations and control centers, minimizing the risk of accidents.

The successful implementation of the Kavach system on this critical section of the Howrah-Chennai Main Line will set a benchmark for safety and technology-driven rail operations, significantly reducing the likelihood of signal passing at danger (SPAD) and head-on collisions, creating a safer travel experience for passengers, the statement said.