Jharsuguda-Bilaspur-Raipur-Nagpur section will be under the purview of “Kavach Safety Technology”

Raipur/ Bilaspur. Indian Railways has developed an automatic train protection system called “Kavach” to ensure the safety of running trains. This is a completely indigenous technology and monitors the operation of trains every moment. This system is fully capable of preventing accidents related to signal and speed.

Trains are mainly operated by the operating system and train drivers present at the station. Therefore, the biggest responsibility of the safety of trains lies on the station master and train drivers of the stations. It is ensured by interlocking of signal and telecommunication system that the station master does not make any mistake in the operation of trains. But till now the train drivers did not have any such reliable help for human errors. In such a situation, “Kavach” (Train Collision Avoidance System) system is a reliable companion to help the train drivers. If the driver forgets to control the speed or apply brakes somewhere, then the “Kavach” system automatically controls the train through the “Brake Interface Unit”.

In this system, reliable wireless communication is established in the entire section and devices are installed in all stations and all engines so that the train engine receives track and signal related details through radio frequency tags installed in the entire track. The device (loco unit) located in the engine takes details from the interlocking system of the station, signal instructions and level crossing gates and operates the train at a safe speed as per the instructions of the computerized system. That is, the speed of the train is interlocked with the position of the signal.

This system replicates the aspect of line-side signal in the driver’s cabin, which will ensure safety and efficiency of train operation even during harsh weather conditions like dense fog, rain. Even if the loco pilot fails to apply brakes, this system helps in controlling the speed of the train by automatically applying brakes. The system works on the principle of continuous update of moving authority and enables the loco to avoid head-on collision through in-loco communication.

Other features provided by the “Kavach” system include auto whistle sounding at level crossing gates and immediate activation of auto/manual “SOS” system to control and alert other trains in case of anomaly or risk, thereby immediately stopping the movement of all trains in the vicinity.

Now there will be no head-on collision between two trains through automatic technology by the ‘Kavach’ system. The special thing is that this technology has been developed in the country. Successful live testing of Kavach protection technology was done by the Hon’ble Railway Minister Shri Ashwini Vaishnav in March 2022 between Gullaguda-Chittigidda railway stations on Lingampalli-Vikarabad section in Secunderabad division of South Central Railway.

Nagpur-Jharsuguda section of South East Central Railway has been identified for Kavach project, for which the proposal has been sent to the Railway Board for approval. After the approval of the proposal, the work of installing Kavach protection technology will be started in Nagpur-Raipur-Bilaspur-Jharsuguda section.