Odisha Train Tragedy: Indigenous 'Kavach' system to prevent accidents was missing on Balasore route; Here's why

The much touted indigenously built 'Kavach'- a train collision avoidance system, which experts say could have avoided the tragic train accident in Odisha's Balasore, was missing on the route of the accident, confirmed officials. The system that came into existence in 2012 had received a huge fillip last year, with the Union Railways Minister present during the trial of the newly-packaged Kavach.

However, it has come to light after the accident that the implementation of Kavach is still in its nascent stage. Railways Spokesperson Amitabh Sharma, speaking to ANI, said that Kavach system is route specific and currently only the Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Bombay (Mumbai) routes have the installation process started for this system.

A press release by the government in April this year had said that train protection system is being expanded in Railways to strengthen passenger safety. However, the expansion of the Kavach system is still in its nascent stage and will take a long time before all important routes are covered under the system.

The rescue operations finally came to a close on Saturday afternoon. Restoration work on the affected track is already underway, as per officials. As per the latest figures, it is feared that close to 300 people are feared dead and about 1000 people have sustained injuries in the one of the worst train accidents in India's history. The accident took place after the Coromandel Express derailed from its track and collided with a goods train. The impact led to the coaches of the express train spilling over to other tracks. The Yesvantpur to Howrah Express that was returning then dashed into the derailed coaches of the Coromandel Express on Friday evening, said officials.