Anti-Collision System Stops Train Safely at 160 Kmph Without Driver

The Test Run

On January 19, an Indian Railways test run on the Palwal-Mathura section proved that the Kavach safety system can stop a high-speed train without any help from the driver. A WAP-5 electric locomotive ran at 160 kilometres per hour, and the driver was told not to use the brakes when approaching a red signal. The Kavach system stepped in automatically and brought the train to a halt 30 metres before the danger mark, meeting all safety rules.

Route and Details

Kush Gupta, who is the Deputy Chief Signal and Telecommunication Engineer for North Central Railway on the Agra Division, led the trial. The test took place on the 125-kilometre Delhi-Agra corridor, which is India's only train route cleared for 160 kmph speeds and was first built in 2016 for the Gatimaan Express. The morning trip started at 10 am from Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh and ended at 1:20 pm in Palwal, Haryana. The return trip ran from 2 pm to 3:35 pm, and both runs finished on time. An earlier test at 140 kmph took place on December 30.

Technology and Future Plans

Kavach is an anti-collision system made by RDSO that puts on the brakes by itself if a driver misses a signal. The Agra Division set up a full network on an 80-kilometre stretch with track tags, station units, and roadside towers. While Kavach is already active on 1,465 kilometres of track in the South Central Railway, those routes have a 130 kmph speed limit, making the Delhi-Agra line necessary for high-speed testing. Indian Railways now plans to run the next trial with passenger coaches attached, and will eventually use the system to protect fast trains like Vande Bharat.