Kavach's missing link in Vande Bharat: Safety measures fall short even as train speed increases

Kannur: Despite the presence of Kavach (Train Collision Avoidance System or TCAS) on Southern Railway's Vande Bharat Express, the trains are running without adequate safety measures. This is because the Global Positioning System (GPS) is not properly installed on tracks and signals across this region which makes the presence of Kavach futile.

None of the trains plying through Kerala possess the Kavach system. Although tracks have been upgraded and average speed of trains increased, little has been done to ensure the safety of passengers in the Southern railway division.

In the South Central Railway division, Kavach was implemented only on 139 trains and on a track distance of 1465 km. Construction work is underway on the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah corridors (a 3000 km stretch) to implement the same. The total route length of Indian Railways is around 68,000 km. Less than five percent of this has the Kavach system in place.

Here's how Kavach works
Kavach issues warnings about problems on the track, overspeeding, signal passing, and loco pilots ignoring the signal. If two trains come onto the same track within the specified distance,, the automatic braking system of the train will operate thereby avoiding a collision.

Kavach needs to be strengthened 
The recent tragedy of the Kanchanjunga Express, which took 15 lives, could have been avoided if the Kavach was in place. This incident underscores the need for Kavach. 

- Sudhanshu Mani
(Written by the Ex-General Manager of Chennai Integral Coach Factory)