Guwahati: It was like a usual wintry night wrapped in dense fog when loco pilot JD Das was in the engine of Kamrup Express (15959) along with assistant loco pilot Umesh Kumar heading towards Lumding from Guwahati.
There was nothing unusual for Das, a seasoned loco pilot. The train was between Habaipur and Lamsakhang stations when Das got an alert from the Intrusion Detection System (IDS). Although the train was at normal speed, an alerted Das and his colleague immediately applied the emergency brakes, bringing the train to a halt. Das and Kumar notice something which they would probably never forget their entire life — a herd of about 60 pachyderms crossing the railway tracks.
According to North Frontier Railway (NFR) officials, the enhanced coordination between the NFR and Assam forest department coupled with several technological upgradations, the railway tracks across the state are becoming safer for the elephants now. "The coordination between the NFR and the other departments like the forest has been enhanced to a great extent in the last few years. As per our records, this has led to the saving of 1,687 elephants since 2017 in different parts of the state," NFR Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said.
"If you see, the incidents of tusker death on railway tracks have been reduced. Of Course, there are accidents in unavoidable circumstances, but the death figures are going down," he said.
Elaborating on the statistics, Sharma said certain areas like the Lumding and the Alipurduar divisions still witness elephants crossing the track through their corridors. While the highest number of elephant deaths took place in areas under Lumding division, a huge number of fatalities have been saved in the Alipurduar division," Sharma said adding that ten elephants died on tracks in 2017 which rose to 11 in 2018. However, the number has gradually started dipping since 2018. In 2024, only five elephants died on tracks, he added.
"We have implemented the IDS system first in Lumding and Lanka divisions on a pilot basis. After its successful implementation, the IDS system was extended to other divisions too. IDS uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to alert the station master, the nearby loco pilot when it detects the presence of elephants within a 100-meter radius of the tracks. Following the instruction, the pilot regulates the speed of the train after getting the alert," Sharma said adding that IDS has been proven to be very successful in saving the lives of elephants on tracks.
It may be mentioned here that the NFR authorities have initiated several steps to reduce elephant-related incidents on tracks. While signage boards have been put up at all identified elephant corridors to alert the loco pilots about the elephant corridors, clearance of vegetation on both sides of the track has led to improved visibility of drivers. The forest department staff, who are supposed to get prior intimations of elephant movement from the field, are posted at the train control office at Alipurduar division to alert loco pilots through the nearest station masters to run the train cautiously.
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