Odisha train crash: Anti-train collision system 'Kavach' wasn't available on route
'The rescue operation has been completed. Now, we are starting the restoration work. Kavach was not available on this route,' Indian Railways Spokesperson Amitabh Sharma said
Representational image
Indian Railways spokesperson Amitabh Sharma said anti-train collision system ‘Kavach’ was not available on the route in Odisha’s Balasore where three trains collided on Friday, killing over 230 people and injuring around 900 others.
“The rescue operation has been completed. Now, we are starting the restoration work. Kavach was not available on this route,” Indian Railways Spokesperson Amitabh Sharma said.
The railways is in the process of installing “Kavach” across its network. It alerts when a loco pilot jumps a signal (Signal Passed at Danger — SPAD), which is the leading cause of train collisions. The system can alert the loco pilot, take control of the brakes and bring the train to a halt automatically when it notices another train on the same line within a prescribed distance.
In February, close on the heels of a head-on collision between two goods trains in Uttar Pradesh, the railways launched a month-long safety drive to prevent accidents such as derailment and overshooting of signals by loco pilots.
Under the drive, senior officers from the Railway Board, zonal railways and divisions were instructed to visit various sections, lobbies of crews, maintenance centres, work sites etc. and carry out a “thorough review of the working practices” to check and enforce safe operational and maintenance practices prescribed to prevent accidents or unusual incidents.
The railways has initiated a high-level probe into the train crash in Odisha, which will be headed by the commissioner of railway safety, South Eastern Circle, officials said on Saturday.
The commissioner of railway safety works under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and investigates all such accidents.
While it is not clear what caused the crash, sources indicated a possible signalling failure.
(With inputs from PTI)
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