Source: https://zeenews.india.com/railways/kishan-reddy-flags-off-puri-kasi-ayodhya-bharat-gaurav-tourist-train-from-secunderabad-2600889.html
Publisher: Zee News
On June 2, 2023, three trains of the Indian Railways, including two express trains and a goods train were involved in a tragic accident, that resulted in the death of more than 200 people and over 500 were injured. The accident involved Train no. 12841 Shalimar-Chennai Coromandal Express and Train no. 12864 SMVB – HWH Superfast Express, both of which got derailed near the Bahanaga Bazaar Railway station in the Balasore district of Odisha at around 18.55 Hrs on Friday. A lot of people on Twitter are asking the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw why the indigenous anti-collision technology ‘KAVACH’ didn’t stop the accident from happening?
The railways has initiated a high-level probe into the train crash in Odisha, which will be headed by the commissioner of railway safety, South Eastern Circle, officials said on Saturday. The commissioner of railway safety works under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and investigates all such accidents. “A M Chowdhary, CRS, SE Circle, will inquire into the accident,” a spokesperson of the Indian Railways said.
The national transporter has also said anti-train collision system “Kavach” was not available on the route. While it is not clear what caused the crash, sources indicated a possible signalling failure. “The rescue operation has been completed. Now, we are starting the restoration work. Kavach was not available on this route,” Indian Railways Spokesperson Amitabh Sharma said. The railways is in the process of installing “Kavach”, an anti-train collision system, across its network.
What Is KAVACH Technology?
KAVACH is an anti-collision technology developed in India to prevent train accidents. This anti-collision technology reduces the chances of an error to the margin of a single error in 10,000 years. Affirming the facts, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw previously said, “The indigenously-developed anti-collision technology is SIL4 certified, which means there is the probability of a single error in 10,000 years.”
The KAVACH technology, in more technical terms, is known as Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) or Automatic Train Protection System (ATP) system. It is aimed at bringing down the number of rail accidents to zero. The technology has also received a SIL4 certification, reinforcing that it can reduce the chances of error to one in 10,000 years.
