New Delhi: Indian Railways would expedite preparations to use Kavach, a a state of art protection technology, alongside block signalling and centralised traffic control systems on key routes, a railway official said.
This comes in the wake of Friday's horrible train accident in Balasore district, Odisha, involving the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, the Bangalore-Howrah Superfast Express, and a goods train that left over 238 dead and 650 injured.
Kavach automatically draws a locomotive to stop when it senses an obstruction on the track. A spokesperson from the railway claimed that the restoration work had begun after the rescue effort was finished. Amitabh Sharma, a representative for Indian Railways about the train catastrophe, said that there was no Kavach system on this route. Kavach is a state-of-the-art electronic safety system that was created by the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) in collaboration with the Indian industry. If the driver disregards speed limits, it automatically engages the train's brakes, preventing crashes.
The initial strategy was to emphasise installing these safety measures in heavily used corridors. However, in order to ensure safer operations on high-density routes, Indian Railways has accelerated these preparations in response to the unfortunate accident.
The first goal would be to increase train speeds on the railway network to 160 km/h on high-density routes like the New Delhi-Mumbai and New Delhi-Howrah sectors, with autonomous block signalling and centralised traffic control.
In order to determine whether this anti-collision system, which works best for heavy-density routes where trains operate at frequent intervals and the gap between two trains is frequently much narrower than other routes, the priority order will now be expedited, said officials.
If a signal is missed by the train driver, block signalling will immediately halt the train. A further degree of manual or physical train operating inspection, supported by system checks, would be added by centralised control.
The Anti-Collision System Kavach is a state-of-the-art technology developed to prevent train accidents and enhance the safety of railway operations. It is designed to detect and prevent collisions between trains, thereby minimizing the risk of accidents and potential loss of life. The Kavach system for trains operating on extremely trafficked networks, with automatic block signalling and centralised traffic control, would be the second priority. With automatic block signalling, Kavach will be utilised in the third phase on more high-density passenger lines.
Kavach employs a combination of advanced sensors, communication systems, and intelligent algorithms to continuously monitor the movement of trains on the tracks. The system utilizes real-time data to analyze the speed, location, and direction of trains, allowing it to detect potential collisions and take immediate preventive measures.
When the system detects a potential collision scenario, it triggers an automatic response to prevent the accident. This response can include activating the train's emergency brakes, providing warnings to the train operators, and coordinating with the centralized control system to divert or stop other trains in the vicinity.
One of the key features of the Kavach system is its ability to communicate with multiple trains simultaneously. This allows it to coordinate and synchronize the actions of different trains in order to avoid conflicts and maintain safe distances between them.
Kavach also integrates with the signaling and control systems of the railway network, enabling seamless integration and exchange of information. It can provide real-time updates to the control center, allowing operators to have an accurate overview of the train movements and take proactive measures to ensure safety.
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