SC appreciates steps taken by Railways to roll out Kavach anti-collision system

The hearing was based on a petition filed days after the crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, which were carrying around 2,500 passengers

Published - April 16, 2024 11:22 am IST - NEW DELHI

Representational file image.

Representational file image. | Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL

The Supreme Court on April 15 recorded the steps taken by the Railways to prevent train accidents, including the implementation of the indigenous anti-collision system Kavach, and acknowledged the measures taken by the Ministry.

“We appreciate the steps taken by the Railways,” a Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant said, taking on record a status report filed by Attorney General R. Venkataramani.

Also read: What is the status of Kavach installations? | Explained

The hearing was based on a petition filed days after the crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, which were carrying around 2,500 passengers, and a goods train in June last year near Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore district of Odisha.

In February, the Supreme Court had asked the Centre to file a status report on rail safety measures, including the Kavach system. Kavach, which literally means armour, was developed in 2002 by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) in collaboration with three Indian vendors.

Justice K.V. Viswanathan, on the Bench, had quizzed the government about news reports that Kavach had been “partly implemented in certain areas”.

At the time, Mr. Venkataramani had said there were “huge technical challenges involved”, and promised to include the details in a status report.

The petition filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari had sought the constitution of an Inquiry Commission headed by a retired Supreme Court judge into the Odisha train accident of June 2, 2023. However, the court disposed of the petition on Monday.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.