Two trains were coming towards each other at high speed on the same track. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav was in a train. But because of the ‘armor’, the two engines did not collide. After all, this armor saved an accident. Similarly, this armor will now help avert all possible accidents. Basically, Kavach is an Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system developed by the Indian Railways. It passed a crucial test on Friday. Built with a target of zero accidents, the Kavach was tested live in Secunderabad by the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav along with the train driver and other officials present for the test. The one minute video shows a successful test of the anti-collision system. The clip begins with Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav explaining that the train he is boarding is on the same track as the train coming from the opposite direction. When the train tries to bypass the stop signal, it stops and Vaishnav says that the Kavach system does not allow the locomotives to move forward.
Watch the video of the trial here
SPAD test, tried crossing signal at red. Kavach is protecting and not allowing the Loco to move.#BharatKaKavach pic.twitter.com/x6Ys9iz9xJ
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) March 4, 2022
This system is triggered when a signal is endangered or when a train passes a stop-signal when it is not permitted to do so. In case of failure of the loco pilot, the armor automatically controls the speed of the train by applying brakes. Apart from this, the Kavach also passed rear-end collision testing, auto whistle test as well as loop-line crossing test.
Know how it works
Railways said in a release that it works on the principle of movement using high frequency radio communication. It is SIL-4 compliant which is the highest level of safety certification. RFID tags are provided on the track and station yard for each track and signal for track identification, location of trains and train direction.
what next for armor
Announced in the Union Budget for 2022 as part of the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, the plan is to bring 2,000 km of rail network under indigenously built armor for safety and capacity addition in 2022-23. So far in the ongoing projects of South Central Railway, Kavach has been deployed on more than 1098 route kms and 65 locos and has been sanctioned for speeds up to 160 kmph. In addition, Kavach is planned to be implemented on the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi Howrah corridors, as a part of the Mission Raftaar project to increase the speed to 160 kmph.
Posted By: Navodit Saktawat