Could Kavach Have Prevented Bengal Train Accident? What Railways Said

Kavach, the made-in-India system to help prevent accidents if two trains are travelling on the same line, was not available on the tracks in Darjeeling where the two trains collided today. At least eight passengers have died and over 50 others were injured after a goods train rammed the Kolkata-bound Kanchanjunga Express from behind.

As an old video of Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw explaining the Kavach system went viral following today's crash, officials said the system is yet to be installed in much of the rail network.

" The Railways plans to deploy the safety system on the Delhi-Guwahati route under its goal to cover over 6,000 km of tracks by next year. Bengal falls within the 3,000 km of tracks set to be protected by Kavach this year. The system will be applied to the Delhi-Howrah route," Jaya Varma Sinha, Chairman of Railway Board told NDTV.

Currently, Kavach is in place on over 1,500 km of tracks. The Centre had planned to bring 2,000 km of rail network under Kavach during 2022-23 and aims to cover around 34,000 km of rail network. The Indian Railway system is over 1 lakh kilometres long.

"If Kavach was deployed, something like this accident could likely be avoided. However, it's a costly system to operate," former Executive Director of Railway Board Prempal Sharma told NDTV.
 

What Is Kavach?

Kavach is an automatic train protection (ATP) system, indigenously-developed by the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RSCO) with three Indian firms.

The security system controls the speeding of trains but also helps locomotive drivers to avoid missing danger signals and ensure that trains run safely especially in low-visibility conditions.

How does it work?

Kavach controls train speed by automatically braking if the driver fails to apply the brakes on time.

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags are placed on tracks and at station yard and signals for identifying the tracks and locating the train and its direction. When the system is activated, all trains within 5 km will stop to let the train on an adjacent track to pass safely.

On Board Display of Signal Aspect (OBDSA) helps the loco pilots view the signals even when the visibility is low due to bad weather. Usually, loco pilots have to look out of the window to spot the signals.

The safety system sends a signal to a loco pilot when approaching a 'red signal' and applies automatic brakes if necessary to prevent overshooting the signal.

In 2022, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said he had personally tested the safety system.

"Rear-end collision testing is successful. Kavach automatically stopped the locomotive before 380 m of other locomotive at the front," he said in a post on X.

Here is a video of the Railways Minister explaining how the system works: 

Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw @AshwiniVaishnaw
Hon'ble Railway Minister briefs during live testing of #kavach automatic train protection technology in Lingampalli - Vikarabad section, South Central Railway #NationalSafetyDay @RailMinIndia @drmsecunderabad pic.twitter.com/jtW5EXECm3

The system also relays SoS messages during emergency situations.