Indian Railways: Successful test of the braking system of 'Kavach', the engine stopped automatically at a red signal at speed of 160

Agra Division of North Central Railway has informed that the braking system of the Automatic Train Protection System 'Kavach' was tested, which was successful. This test was conducted on a semi-high-speed train, in which the engine running at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour stopped automatically by applying brakes at the red signal. The Kavach system has been developed by the Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO). In case of emergency, if the driver is unable to apply brakes in time, the Kavach system can automatically stop the train by applying brakes.

The engine stopped by braking on its own at a speed of 160

Indian Railways is preparing to implement this Kavach system on its entire rail network to prevent train accidents. Agra Railway Division's PRO Prashasti Srivastava said that this test was conducted under the supervision of Kush Gupta, Deputy Chief Signal and Telecommunication Engineer of North Central Railway. Under this test, a semi-high speed engine WAP-5 equipped with an armor system was run at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour on the Palwal-Mathura section. The engine driver was told not to apply brakes at the red signal. Prashasti Aggarwal told that we wanted to see whether the Kavach system applies brakes automatically after seeing the red signal or not.

Successful test conducted on WAP-5 engine

During testing, it was observed that after seeing the red signal, the engine applied brakes only 30 meters away from the red signal. During this period all the safety parameters were also found correct. The engine tested is the WAP-5 engine capable of pulling a passenger coach at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour and is the same engine used in premium trains like Shatabdi and Gatimaan Express. Now North Central Railway Division will soon conduct this test on any engine including passenger coach. Agra Division has equipped the entire 80 km section between Mathura and Palwal with the Kavach network. Under this, RFID tags have been installed on the railway tracks of the station area. Stationary armor units have been installed at many places including the station and towers and antennas have also been installed near the tracks.

Armor system will provide many benefits

According to the Railways, the Kavach system is already implemented on three sections of the South Central Railway on a route of about 1465 kilometers. However, the trial of the armor has not been done here yet because the speed limit is applicable on these tracks. Currently, it can run at a speed of 130 kilometers per hour in most sections of the country. Only in the section between Delhi and Agra, trains can run at a speed of 160 kmph because special tracks were built here in the year 2016. With the Kavach system, not only will the loco pilots be able to see the signals better but the trains will be operated better and safely even in bad weather.

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