Indian Railways: Watch video of how'Kavach' averts collision of two speeding trains
Premium- Indian Railways will install Kavach on heavily used networks with automatic block signaling and centralized traffic control
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw successfully tested the Kavach protection technology on Friday by boarding in one of the locomotives. With this automatic technology, there will no longer be a face-to-face collision between two trains in the Indian Railways network.
The Railway Minister was on the locomotive which went from Gullaguda to Chitgidda. Shri VK Tripathi, Chairman & CEO, Railway Board was in the locomotive which moved from Chitgidda to Galaguda. During the trial, both the locomotives were moving towards each other, leading to a head-on collision.
The 'Kavach' system introduced the automatic braking system and stopped the engines at a distance of 380 metres.Kavach is an indigenously developed ATP system by Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) in collaboration with Indian Industry and tested by South Central Railway to achieve the corporate objective of safety in train operations in Indian Railways.
It is a state-of-the-art electronic system of security integrity level-4 standards.Kavach is meant to provide protection to trains to pass signals at danger (red) and to avoid collisions. If the driver fails to control the train in accordance with the speed restrictions, it automatically activates the train braking system. In addition, it prevents collisions between two engines equipped with a functional armor system.
The Union Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnav inspected the trial of 'Kavach' working system between Gullaguda-Chitgidda railway stations on Lingampalli-Vikarabad section in Secunderabad Division of South Central Railway. Shri VK Tripathi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Railway Board and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.
Kavach deployment strategy on Indian Railways:
96% of railway traffic is carried on Indian Railways high-density network and heavily used network routes. To carry this traffic safely, Kavach works are being taken up in a focused manner as per the following priority set by Railway Board.
First priority: Speed up to 160 kmph with automatic block signaling and centralized traffic control on High Density Routes and New Delhi-Mumbai and New Delhi-Howrah sections. As such sections are more prone to human errors on the part of drivers, resulting in accidents as trains move close to each other
Second priority: Kavach will be used on heavily used networks with automatic block signaling and centralized traffic control.
Third priority: On other passenger high density routes with automatic block signalling.
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