The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) said it helped prevent train collisions involving 255 elephants across four divisions between January and September, using real-time alerts, speed restrictions, enhanced patrolling and coordination with forest officials.
NFR chief spokesperson Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said the interventions took place across the Alipurduar, Rangia, Lumding and Tinsukia divisions. The railway attributed the outcome to a combination of technology-driven systems, increased vigilance and close coordination with the forest department.
The railway has deployed an AI-based Intrusion Detection System using Distributed Acoustic System technology in vulnerable areas. The system provides real-time alerts when elephant movement is detected near railway tracks, allowing railway personnel to respond before animals enter the path of trains.
Other measures include night-time and temporary speed restrictions based on elephant sightings, enhanced patrolling, cautionary signage and the clearance of vegetation near tracks. Train crews have also been sensitised to respond to alerts and sightings in areas identified as vulnerable to elephant movement.
The railway said it has installed the ‘Plan Bee’ system at selected locations. The system uses amplified honeybee sounds to discourage wild elephants from approaching railway tracks. NFR has also undertaken construction of underpasses at identified locations to support safer wildlife movement and reduce the need for elephants to cross active railway lines.
The measures place railway operations within a wider coordination system involving the forest department. According to Sharma, real-time communication between the two agencies enables timely action whenever elephant movement is detected near the tracks.
NFR has also focused on human behaviour around railway corridors. It is conducting sensitisation programmes for train crews, railway staff, pantry car personnel and passengers to discourage the disposal of food waste near tracks. The railway said discarded food can attract elephants and other animals towards railway infrastructure.
Elephant-train collisions have made railway corridors in forested and wildlife-sensitive areas a recurring infrastructure management challenge. The measures reported by NFR combine operational changes, detection technology, physical infrastructure and staff awareness rather than relying on a single intervention.
The railway did not provide a division-wise breakdown of the 255 elephants saved or details of the number and location of underpasses and intrusion detection installations in its statement. It said its preventive efforts would continue through coordination between railway personnel and the forest department.