What is 'Kavach', the anti-collision system in trains, which wasn't deployed on Odisha route

New Delhi, June 3

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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.

“AM Chowdhary, CRS, SE Circle, will inquire into the accident,” a spokesperson of the Indian Railways said.

The national transporter has also said that anti-train collision system “Kavach” was not available on the route.

At least 238 people have been killed and more than 900 injured in the crash on Friday involving the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train.

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.

Kavach alerts when a loco pilot jumps a signal (Signal Passed at Danger — SPAD), which is the leading cause of train collisions. The system can alert the loco pilot take control of the brakes and bring the train to a halt automatically when it notices another train on the same line within a prescribed distance.