RAD supplies networking gear for Indian Railways' KAVACH

Indian Railways is using networking equipment from RAD in HBL Engineering's KAVACH deployment, which supports the railway system's Automatic Train Protection network.

RAD is supplying HBL Engineering with a management platform and a customised Layer 2 and Layer 3 industrial networking system for KAVACH, India's indigenous Automatic Train Protection system. The equipment is intended to support Ethernet connectivity for railway communications infrastructure used in safety-related operations.

KAVACH was developed to improve railway safety and support train operations across the Indian network. HBL Engineering has been involved in its development and deployment, and has won several contracts linked to KAVACH projects on Indian Railways.

The arrangement combines HBL Engineering's railway signalling work with RAD's networking products. The system had to meet Indian Railways' design requirements, as well as standards and certification conditions set by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation and government telecommunications security rules.

Tuhin Dutta, India Country Manager, RAD, said: "We are proud to be associated with HBL Engineering for this prestigious railway project and to contribute RAD's networking expertise to the KAVACH ecosystem. RAD has long-standing experience in providing reliable solutions for train operators and critical infrastructure operations worldwide. Fail-safe communications infrastructure is a critical component of modern railway systems, and we are pleased to support HBL Engineering with our networking technology for this important application."

System requirements

The companies said the KAVACH networking design includes redundancy intended to maintain communications during switchover and reduce the risk of losing critical operational data. HBL Engineering sought a tailored system for the specific architecture required by Indian Railways.

"KAVACH Networking ensures fail-safe operations and is complete with multiple levels of redundancy for seamless switchover to avoid any loss of critical information. HBL approached RAD for a customized solution meeting Indian Railways' specific design architecture. It had to meet RDSO standards, certification criteria, and most importantly, comply with the Indian Government's DOT certifications (MTCTE) and Security Compliances (NSDTS). RAD has delivered on every point," said MVV Vidyasagar, President of the Electronics Group, HBL Engineering.

Vidyasagar also referred to the testing phase before deployment. "RAD was quick in delivering initial prototypes for lab trials which went smoothly as per our engineering expectations," he said.

Rail modernisation

Indian Railways has been expanding the use of KAVACH as part of a wider effort to strengthen operational safety across its network. Automatic Train Protection systems help prevent collisions and overspeeding by monitoring train movement and intervening when required.

For suppliers, the project illustrates the growing role of communications networks in railway control systems, where signalling, monitoring and operational data depend on resilient links between field equipment and control infrastructure. In such settings, compliance with domestic technical and security standards is a central requirement for vendors.

HBL Engineering operates across industrial electronics, rail signalling and energy storage. Its rail business includes KAVACH work across the Indian railway network, where it has emerged as one of the companies involved in deploying the indigenous train protection system.

RAD has operated in networking for more than four decades and supplies communications products to service providers and critical infrastructure operators in multiple countries. In this project, its role centres on the managed networking layer that underpins data exchange within the KAVACH environment.

The prototypes supplied for laboratory trials met HBL Engineering's engineering expectations, according to the companies.