Indian Railways IRCTC has developed a technology named ‘Kavach’ for the safety of passengers. This technology gives complete safety to the Indian Railways and the passengers traveling in them. It is fully indigenous and affordable automatic technology. This technology alerts you with a red light when two high-speed trains are moving on the same track and then automatically stops by applying brakes. Due to this, railways can avert the risk of an accident.
In the presence of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, the indigenous technology ‘Kavach’ has been successfully tested. Two trains, speeding towards each other near Sikandrabad, one carrying Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and the other Railway Board chairman. Due to indigenous ‘Kavach’ technology, both vehicles stopped before colliding.
The train will stop automatically in case of an accident
Kavach is designed to help Railways achieve the goal of “Zero Accidents”. It is designed to stop a train automatically when it notices another train on the same line within a stipulated distance. Even if the driver tries to cross the red signal by mistake, the train stops before the signal itself.
How ‘Kavach’ works
- This train will stop automatically on the jumping signal.
- Once implemented, it will cost Rs 50 lakh per kilometer to cover the entire country.
- The system works in three situations – head-on collision, rear-end collision and signal hazard.
- The ‘Kavach’ controls the speed of the train by automatic application of brakes in case of brake failure.
- It transmits motion information using high-frequency radio communication.
- It is also SIL-4 (Security Integrity Level – 4) compliant which is the highest level of security certification.
- RFID tags are provided at the track and station yard for each track and give signals for track identification, train location, and train direction.
- The ‘On Board Display of Signal Aspect’ (OBDSA) gives this indication to the loco pilots even when they are less visible.
- Once the system is activated, these trains will stop within a range of 5 km.
Presently, the signaling is done by the Assistant Loco Pilot, giving the signal by pulling the neck out of the window.
The first field trials on passenger trains were started in February 2016, and Indian Railways finalized the initial specifications of the armor in May 2017. Thereafter, an independent security assessment of the system was carried out by a third-party ISA. It was then tested to work up to a train speed of 110 KMPH.
Thereafter, based on further tests, the armor is subjected to a speed of up to 160 KMPH. Railways are assessing its potential on more of this technology. In the budget of 2022, there is a plan to connect 2,000 km of rail network under indigenous world-class technology ‘Kavach’. So far, Kavach has been deployed over 1098 km and 65 locomotives in the ongoing projects of the South Central Railway.
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