Railway Safety In Jeopardy: Outcry Grows Over Slow Kavach Rollout After Kanchenjunga Express Mishap

In the aftermath of the recent Kanchenjunga Express train accident, which resulted in the deaths of nine people and injuries to 41, experts and politicians have come together to express their concerns over the government's slow pace in implementing the anti-collision system, Kavach.

The system, which was unveiled in 2022, is designed to prevent train collisions by installing automatic train protection systems on key routes. However, despite allocating Rs 798.98 crore for the installation of Kavach, only 6,000 km of railway routes have been covered so far, leaving a significant portion of the total railway network uncovered.

India Today Journalist Rajdeep Sardesai took to Twitter to point out the lack of progress on Kavach installation, stating that "the real issue that needs debate on railway accidents is the lack of 'Kavach' or anti-collision device installation." He also emphasized that even if the government has covered 6,000 km of railway routes, it is less than 92% of the total railway network in India.

Congress leader Pawan Khera also condemned the government's handling of railway safety, stating that "recurring incidents like these are a result of the ministry's failure to learn from past mistakes." He called for accountability and criticized ministers for prioritizing photo opportunities over safety measures.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also weighed in on the issue, accusing the Railway Ministry of neglecting passenger safety and failing to implement Kavach effectively. She claimed that the railways were more focused on fare hikes than improving safety measures and that officials were only concerned with "beautification" rather than passenger amenities.

The Kanchenjunga Express accident is just the latest in a string of tragic incidents on Indian railways. While preliminary findings point to a combination of human error and signal failure as contributing factors, many are left wondering how such accidents continue to occur despite the existence of safety measures like Kavach.