New Delhi, Feb 4: Indian Railways has deployed an AI-enabled Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to prevent elephant deaths on railway tracks by detecting their movement in advance and alerting train operations staff, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Railways, in coordination with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has taken a series of preventive measures to mitigate elephant-train collisions, including the deployment of advanced technology and habitat-sensitive infrastructure.
A key initiative is the AI-enabled IDS, which uses Distributed Acoustic Sensors (DAS) installed along railway tracks to detect elephant locomotion. The system comprises optical fibre, specialised hardware, and pre-installed acoustic signatures of elephant movement. Once detected, real-time alerts are generated for loco pilots, station masters, and control rooms, enabling timely preventive action such as speed reduction or train stoppage.
At present, the IDS is operational over 141 route kilometres at critical and vulnerable locations identified by forest departments in the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) zone. In addition, works have been sanctioned for expansion across multiple railway zones, covering:
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NFR: 403.42 route km
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East Coast Railway (ECOR): 368.70 route km
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Southern Railway (SR): 55.85 route km
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Northern Railway (NR): 52 route km
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South Eastern Railway (SER): 55 route km
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North Eastern Railway (NER): 99.18 route km
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Western Railway (WR): 115 route km
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East Central Railway (ECR): 20.3 route km
In addition to IDS deployment, Indian Railways has implemented several complementary measures. These include joint investigations with forest departments following any elephant-hit incidents, imposition of speed restrictions at identified corridors, regular sensitisation meetings with train crews, and deployment of elephant trackers by forest authorities to provide early warnings.
Other mitigation steps include construction of underpasses and ramps for elephant movement, installation of fencing and signage at vulnerable locations, clearance of vegetation and edible items near tracks, provision of solar-powered LED lighting in forest areas, and installation of honey bee buzzer devices at level crossings, whose sound acts as a deterrent for elephants.
Thermal vision cameras are also being tested to detect the presence of wild animals during night-time or poor visibility conditions, providing additional alerts to loco pilots.
According to officials, an average of around 16 elephant-train collision incidents have been reported annually over the past five years.
The information was provided by Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. (PIB)
