BW Explained: Everything About Kavach System In Railways
Three trains collided in a rail tragedy on June 2 in Balasore, Odisha, serving as a distressing reminder of India's challenges in modernising and enhancing its rail network. The collision involved the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express, the Yesvantpur-Howrah Express, and a goods train, resulting in the deadliest rail catastrophe in 20 years. With at least 275 fatalities and over 900 injuries, it is imperative to adopt preventive measures. One such solution is the implementation of the Kavach system, which can help avoid similar incidents if implemented properly.
What is Kavach System?
In addition to supporting railway operations in challenging weather situations like dense fog, Kavach was created to help locomotive pilots avoid signal passing at danger (SPAD) and overspeeding. The device ensures improved control over train speed and averts potential accidents by automatically deploying brakes as needed.
How Kavach system came into existence?
The Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) and the Indian industry collaborated to develop the KAVACH, an indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system. The South Central Railway organised the trials to increase safety in train operations on all Indian Railways.
How does this system work?
A modern electronic system that complies with Safety Integrity Level-4 (SIL-4) criteria. By prohibiting trains from passing the signal at Red, which denotes danger, and avoiding collision, it is intended to provide protection. If the driver doesn't maintain control of the train within the speed limits, it automatically engages the train's braking system. The collision between two locomotives with operable Kavach systems is also avoided. Additionally, the system relays SoS communications in emergency circumstances. The centralised live feed is an additional function.
Routes in which this system is working
Currently, the Kavach is being used on 1200 km of the 1445 km of track, 65 locomotives, and 134 stops in the South Central Railway zone. Before being used on the 3000 km of the New Delhi-Mumbai main line and the Howrah-Delhi main line, the Kavach automatic protection system will be modified as part of the Indian Railway's Mission Raftar project to handle 160 kmph top speed. The Union Budget of India for the fiscal years 2022–2023 and 34,000 km, respectively, allowed the rapid expansion of the Kavach system and the Golden Quadrilateral rail line.
