Experts differ whether Kavach could have averted Balasore 3-train tragedy

Balasore: As a debate raged over whether Kavach, the indigenously developed National Automatic Train Protection System, could have averted the tragic crash in Balasore, experts and officials remained divided in their opinion. Many experts say it wouldn’t have helped prevent the crash as Coromandel Express, running at more than 120 kmph, suddenly entered the loop line and there was not enough time for applying automatic brakes to avoid collision with the stationary goods train.
The corridor where the accident happened and trains running through it have not been covered by the device that was introduced in 2022. The system is expected to cover the entire network.
The debate started soon after West Bengal CM and former railway minister Mamata Banerjee said, “There was no anti-collision device on the train, as far as I know. Had the device been on the train, this would not have happened.”
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, however, said, “This is not a subject of anti-collision devices.”
This is one of the busiest networks of railways in the country and there is a dire need to increase the capacity by laying more railway lines.
A railway veteran and designer of Vande Bharat Express, Sudhanshu Mani, said, “Kavach couldn’t have stopped this accident ... Coromandel Express driver could not have pulled the brakes when he saw the obstruction as the train was running at high speed.”
Developed by railways as part of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative, Kavach is designed to prevent collision between trains on the same track. The device, the patent for which is held by Research Designs and Standard Organisation, a unit of railways, controls speed of trains by automatically applying the brakes in situations of over speeding or likely collision. The device, which was first tested on a speeding loco which had Vaishnaw in the cabin along with its developers, sends signals that can be useful at higher speed and even in foggy weather.
Experts emphasised that while the anti-collision system works both to prevent head-on and rear collision of two trains running on the same track, in the case of the latest tragedy, Coromandel Express suddenly entered the loop line where the goods train was standing and there was no safe distance for even an automatic braking system to be effective. “It would have taken a few km to stop the train even after applying the brakes since the train was moving at a high speed,” said an official.
The railways has speeded up its efforts to bring more of its network under Kavach.
The system has been provided on 1,465 km of South Central Railway and it has also been sanctioned as part of ‘Mission Raftar’ to upgrade the speed on New Delhi–Mumbai and New Delhi–Howrah sections (about 3,000 km). Contracts have been awarded for 1,524 km in New Delhi–Howrah, including Lucknow-Kanpur, and for 1,425 km in New Delhi–Mumbai, including Vadodara-Ahmedabad stretch.
The railway plans to bring around 34,000 km of its network under Kavach.
Certified at the highest levels of safety integrity, the specifications of Kavach have been upgraded since its launch in the light of experience and feedback from users.