Indian Railways develops RFID train-installed anti-collision system

The Agra Railways has developed the RFID Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS)/Kavach and plans to install Kavach on all trains this year. Kavach is an automatic train protection system independently developed by Indian Railways through the Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO). The RFID Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS)/Kavach is an anti-collision system that can automatically brake. Automatic braking will be triggered when a driver is speeding or crossing a red signal to prevent a train collision.

On June 2, 2023, a train derailed and collided in Balasore, Odisha, killing 275 people and injuring more than 1,175 railway passengers; on June 5, 2023, in the Baga district of Odisha , another freight train carrying limestone derailed, about 500 kilometers from the Balasore accident site.

It is reported that the main cause of the major railway accident on June 2 was the failure of the electronic interlocking device, which led to the train derailment and collision. The accident occurred when an electronic interlocking device was supposed to signal "entering the main line" to the Kolkata-Chennai-bound Coromandel Express, but the signal was later canceled and the express entered the circle line and hit a stationary freight train, causing the passenger train to The train derailed and the Bengaluru-Hora Super Express, which was coming at high speed, hit the Coromandel Express carriages scattered on the adjacent track.

It is worth mentioning that the RFID train installation anti-collision system has successfully tested the automatic braking system installed on the eight-car Vanda Bharat train, which can brake on its own to prevent the driver from failing to brake in time for any reason. move to avoid safety accidents. During the experiment, the train driver did not apply the brakes. The train was still traveling at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour and automatically stopped 10 meters in front of the red signal light.

The system requires multiple components such as Kavach stations, RFID tags throughout the train length and Kavach towers along the tracks to work simultaneously. Indian Railways is deploying these components in the network to improve the safety of train operations.

Currently, Kavach has been deployed on 1,098 kilometers of India's South-Central Railway and 65 locomotives under construction. It is being implemented on the 1,200-km route of the South-Central Railway, including Bidar - Parli Vaijnath - Parbhani and Manmad - Parbhani - Nanded - Secunderabad - Gadwal - Dhone - Guntakal sections.