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In a major step towards strengthening railway safety, Indian Railways has approved the installation of Kavach on the balance Broad Gauge sections of the Ambala Division of Northern Railway.
The project covers 811 route kilometres and has been sanctioned at a cost of 201 crore. The work has been approved under the umbrella programme for the provision of Kavach with LTE-based communication backbone on balance routes of Indian Railways. The sanctioned work will cover important rail routes in the Ambala Division, including Ambala Cantonment-Ludhiana, Kalka-Chandigarh-New Morinda-Sahnewal, Sirhind-Daulatpur Chowk, Rajpura-Bathinda-Shri Ganganagar and Ludhiana-Dhuri-Jakhal sections. These routes serve as key rail corridors connecting the states of Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. They handle substantial passenger and freight traffic and play an important role in the movement of people and goods across the region. Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system designed to enhance operational safety. It helps prevent Signal Passing at Danger (SPAD), automatically applies brakes when required to avert unsafe situations, controls train speed in critical conditions, and significantly reduces the risk of collisions. Indian Railways is progressively expanding Kavach across its network as part of its ongoing efforts to improve safety, reliability and capacity on high-density and strategically important routes. Earlier, the Indian Railways decided to conduct fire safety audits at railway stations across the country to further strengthen safety and security. The initiative will assess existing fire safety systems and identify areas that require improvement to enhance the safety of passengers and protect railway assets. The audit will cover all critical safety infrastructure, including station buildings, electrical installations, air-conditioning and ventilation systems, emergency exits, firefighting equipment, water availability, pumping arrangements, and sprinkler systems. The objective is to ensure that railway stations are fully prepared to respond effectively to emergencies, including fire incidents. (ANI)
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