A system developed by the Indian Railways to prevent train accidents due to driver error or other factors was not available on the tracks in Balasore where three trains collided last night, killing over 261. Some 900 were injured.
"The rescue operation has been completed. We are starting the restoration work. The Kavach system was not available on this route," Indian Railways spokesperson Amitabh Sharma said.
Three trains had collided after one of the train's coaches derailed in Balasore at 7 pm.
Kavach is an automatic train protection (ATP) system, developed by the Research Design and Standards Organisation jointly with three Indian firms.
Kavach not only helps locomotive drivers to avoid missing danger signals and control speeding, but also ensures trains run safely in low-visibility conditions.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had personally tested the 'Kavach' system. "Rear-end collision testing is successful. Kavach automatically stopped the locomotive before 380 m of other locomotive at the front," Mr Vaishnaw tweeted in March last year.
Kavach controls train speed by automatically braking if the driver fails to apply the brakes on time.
