Questions Arise on Kavach Anti-Collision System

Hyderabad: The accident involving three trains in quick succession in Odisha, which took over 280 lives, left many wondering whether the Kavach anti-collision system that the railway had developed had failed.

Sources told Deccan Chronicle that Kavach was in its initial stages, and had not been installed in the area where the accident took place on Friday. It will take time for all 60,000-plus km of Indian Railway track to be covered with Kavach.

This pilot project of this system was initiated in 2013 and 2014, from Lingampally to Vikarabad on the SCR network.

Sources said that about 1,500 km out of 6,500 km of the track in South Central Railway was protected by Kavach.

Kavach is an indigenously-developed automatic train protection system, It prevents collisions and stops trains from passing red signals. It regulates speed while trains pass through loop lines.

Sources said the railways were keen on installing this system on high-density routes like New Delhi to Mumbai and to Howrah. The cost of the system is between ₹40 lakh and ₹50 lakh. European models cost ₹1.5 crore to ₹2 crore per kilometre.