It can save lives. Then why is it taking time to install Kavach across India?
- Dipak Kumar Dash
- TNNUpdated: Jun 22, 2024, 13:16 IST IST
The indigenous system can prevent train collisions, but so far it has been deployed on less than 1,500km of the country’s total railway network
On June 17, the Kanchanjungha Express, travelling from Agartala to Sealdah in Kolkata, collided with a goods train at Rangapani, a short distance from New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal. So far, 11 people have died in this crash. Almost a year ago, on June 2, the Coromandel Express, travelling from Kolkata to Chennai, collided at full speed with a goods train near Balasore in Odisha, killing 296 people.
Both these accidents involved collisions. Now, we have an indigenously developed technology called Kavach, literally meaning 'armour' to prevent such collisions. While experts say that Kavach may not have been able to prevent the Balasore accident — which also involved a third train — the system should easily have helped avert the Rangapani mishap. The question though is moot since Kavach was absent from the equation in both cases.
Both these accidents involved collisions. Now, we have an indigenously developed technology called Kavach, literally meaning 'armour' to prevent such collisions. While experts say that Kavach may not have been able to prevent the Balasore accident — which also involved a third train — the system should easily have helped avert the Rangapani mishap. The question though is moot since Kavach was absent from the equation in both cases.
