Hyderabad: Railways on Saturday said that the 'Kavach' safety system was not available on the route on which the triple train derailment took place on Friday night in Balasore district of Odisha killing 280 people and injuring 900 others. Railways Spokesperson Amitabh Sharma while confirming that the rescue operation was over, said that the Kavach safety system was not available on the route.
What is 'Kavach': 'Kavach' safety system refers to the indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) Systems for enhancing safety of running trains run by the Indian Railways. Like the Air Traffic Control (ATC) in aviation, the Kavach safety system is meant to to assist locomotive pilots in avoiding Signal Passing At Danger (SPAD) besides help in train operations during adverse weather conditions such as dense fog during winters to prevent train accidents.
Kavach key features: The Kavach system has the special feature of automatically applying brakes as an anti-collision measure to prevent accidents. Key features of the Kavach system include the provision of automatic brakes, line-side signal display in the cabin for improved visibility in foggy conditions and at higher speeds and direct loco-to-loco communication.
Also read: Odisha triple train accident: Death toll rises to 238, injured 900
The indigenous train safety was announced by the Railways Ministry in the 2022 Union Budget as a part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. As per the Railways, a total of 2000 km of rail network was planned to be brought under the indigenous world-class technology Kavach. Besides a trial section of 250 km, Kavach is under implementation on over 1200 Route km of South Central Railway.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had last informed the Lok Sabha that the project was to cost Rs 16.88 crore. The rollout of Kavach is planned on the New Delhi–Howrah and New Delhi–Mumbai sections, with a target completion date of March 2024, Vaishnaw said. Vaishnaw on Saturday said that his ministry will thoroughly investigate the accident and “ensure such incidents don't happen in future”.
The Union Health Ministry dispatched two teams of doctors from AIIMS Bhubaneswar for Balasore and Cuttack to assist in relief operations at the rail accident site in Odisha. Congress on Saturday slammed Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw over the lack of safety system 'Kavach'. Ashwini Vaishnaw had in December last year said that ‘Kavach’ was being implemented in a phased manner with 1,455 route kms on South Central Railway already covered.
