{"id":41234,"date":"2024-06-18T04:01:15","date_gmt":"2024-06-17T22:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=41234"},"modified":"2025-10-13T14:43:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T09:13:15","slug":"kanchanjunga-express-accident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/kanchanjunga-express-accident\/","title":{"rendered":"Kanchanjunga Express Accident: Causes, Investigation, and Railway Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in News?<\/li>\n<li>What is T\/A912 Authorization?<\/li>\n<li>Kanchanjunga express accident<\/li>\n<li>What is Kavach &#8211; Train Collision Avoidance System?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why in News?<\/h2>\n<p>Nine people were killed, and at least 40 were injured when the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express from Agartala was hit from the rear by a goods train. The accident occurred in West Bengal\u2019s Darjeeling district, 11 km from New Jalpaiguri station.<\/p>\n<p>A combination of a signalling fault on the tracks before the New Jalpaiguri station and human error by the driver of the freight train are likely to have led to a deadly collision. In this context, experts highlight the importance of installing the <strong>anti-collision system &#8216;Kavach&#8217;<\/strong> to control human errors.<\/p>\n<h2>What is T\/A912 Authorization?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>About<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Also known as paper line clearance, T\/A912 authorization is a specific instruction given to train drivers in the event of a failure or defect in the automatic signalling system.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>It outlines the procedures and speed restrictions that must be followed to ensure safe train operations under such conditions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Procedures and speed restrictions<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Signal Procedure<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>When encountering an automatic signal displaying the &#8220;ON&#8221; aspect (red signal), the driver must stop the train.<\/li>\n<li>The train must wait for the prescribed duration at the red signal: one minute during the day and two minutes at night.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Proceeding with Caution<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>After the waiting period, the driver may proceed with extreme caution.<\/li>\n<li>The maximum speed allowed is 15 kmph where visibility is good.<\/li>\n<li>The maximum speed allowed is 10 kmph where visibility is poor (e.g., in case of rain).<\/li>\n<li>The driver must maintain these restricted speeds until reaching the next stop signal or clear signal indication.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Kanchanjunga express accident<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The accident<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Combination of faulty automatic signalling system and human error &#8211; possible reasons behind the accident<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Faulty automatic signalling system<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The automatic signalling system between Ranipatra railway station and Chattar Hat junction in West Bengal was not working.<\/li>\n<li>This prompted the Rangapani station manager to issue a cautionary note known as T\/A912 to all drivers passing through the section.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Human error<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The driver of the Kanchanjunga Express followed the correct procedures during the defect in the automatic signalling system.\n<ul>\n<li>It stopped at all red signals for one minute and proceeding at 10 kmph.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>However, the goods train&#8217;s driver ignored these norms and hit the stationary passenger train from behind.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is Kavach &#8211; Train Collision Avoidance System?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>About<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>It is India\u2019s very own automatic protection system in development since 2012, under the name Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS).\n<ul>\n<li>Later, it got rechristened to Kavach or \u201carmour\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Basically, Kavach is a state-of-the-art electronic system which was designed to help the Indian Railways achieve Zero Accidents.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Development<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>It has been indigenously developed by the <strong>Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) <\/strong>in collaboration with the Indian industry.<\/li>\n<li>Trails were facilitated by South Central Railway to achieve the corporate objective of safety in train operations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Functioning<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>A set of electronic devices and Radio Frequency Identification devices installed in locomotives, in the signalling system as well the track.<\/li>\n<li>This enables the locomotives, signalling system and tracks to talk to each other using ultra high radio frequencies to control the brakes of trains and also alert drivers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Features<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>It activates the train braking system automatically if the driver fails to control the train as per the speed restrictions.<\/li>\n<li>In addition, it prevents collision between two Locomotives equipped with a functional KAVACH system.<\/li>\n<li>It is designed to assist locomotive pilots in avoiding Signal Passing At Danger (SPAD) and over speeding.\n<ul>\n<li>SPAD &#8211; when a train passes a stop signal when not allowed to do so.<\/li>\n<li>SPADs are one of the potential precursors to railway accidents.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>It will also provide support for train operations during adverse weather conditions such as dense fog.<\/li>\n<li>It is a Safety Integrity Level 4 (SIL-4) certified technology with the probability of error being one in 10,000 years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Other features<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Automatic Braking for Prevention of Over Speeding<\/li>\n<li>Auto Whistling while approaching Level Crossing Gates<\/li>\n<li>SoS Messages during emergency situations<\/li>\n<li>Centralised live monitoring of Train movements through Network Monitor System<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Deployment strategy<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Indian Railways had plans to implement <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/about-kavach-system\/\" target=\"_blank\">KAVACH<\/a> protection system to an extent of 2000 km during 2022-23.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Around 34,000 km of network will be brought under KAVACH.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Benefits<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Enhanced safety for Indian railways<\/li>\n<li>World\u2019s cheapest automatic train collision protection system\n<ul>\n<li>It costs \u20b950 lakh per kilometre to operate compared to about \u20b92 crore worldwide.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Opens avenues of export of this indigenous technology for Railways.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Q.1. What is parliamentary democracy?<\/h3>\n<p>Parliamentary democracy is a political system where the government is elected by and accountable to the legislature (parliament), with the head of state separate from the head of government.<\/p>\n<h3>Q.2. What is meant by collective responsibility of Council of Ministers?<\/h3>\n<p>Collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers means all ministers are collectively accountable to the parliament for government decisions and policies, standing or falling together as a unified body.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ndtv.com\/india-news\/human-error-in-bengal-train-accident-what-railway-board-boss-said-kanchanjunga-express-accident-5910816\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Human Error In Bengal Train Accident? What Railway Board Boss Said<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/cities\/kolkata\/kanchanjunga-express-accident-human-error-deaths-9398131\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Indian Express<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/india-news\/faulty-signal-speeding-freight-train-what-caused-bengal-train-crash-101718650301166.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Hindustan Times<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/india\/human-error-or-missing-kavach-what-may-have-caused-kanchanjunga-express-accident\/articleshowprint\/111058236.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Times of India<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>T\/A912 authorization instructs train drivers during automatic signalling system failures or defects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":41235,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-41234","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}