AI, Optic Fibres and Alarms: How Indian Railways Is Racing to Save Elephants From Deadly Train Collisions
As dawn breaks over the lush tea gardens surrounding Binnaguri Railway Station in Jalpaiguri, a sharp buzzer slices through the hum of the control room.
Station superintendent S.K. Sunil glances at a glowing digital panel — the Intrusion Detection System has picked up vibrations at the 101-kilometre mark between Binnaguri and Dalgaon.
The signal is clear: elephants are moving dangerously close to the tracks.
Within seconds, an alert is sent to the approaching train’s loco pilot, instructing him to slow down to just 25 kmph.
Another disaster narrowly avoided.
“On average, we receive four such alarms every day,” Sunil says. “We have to stay alert constantly. We simply cannot afford to lose more elephants.”
His urgency stems from tragedies like the one in Hojai, where eight elephants were killed in December 2025 after being struck by a speeding Rajdhani Express.
Since 2019, more than 90 elephants have died in collisions with trains across India.
A High-Risk Corridor Turns Into a Testing Ground
Binnaguri lies in the heart of the 52-km Madarihat–Nagrakata railway stretch — one of India’s most sensitive elephant corridors.
The route has now become a pilot zone for a cutting-edge AI-enabled Intrusion Detection System (IDS) designed to sense elephant movement well before animals reach the tracks.
Following its early success, the Ministry of Railways has launched a massive ₹208-crore project to deploy IDS across 1,158 route kilometres in eight major railway zones, including Northeast Frontier Railway, Southern Railway, Northern Railway, and others.
So far, around 141 kilometres under Northeast Frontier Railway are already protected.
How the Technology Works
The system relies on optical fibre cables buried around 20 metres from the tracks and about three feet underground. These fibres are coiled in specific patterns to detect vibrations.
Senior section engineer Irfan Azam explains that the technology is adapted from security systems used along international borders.
“It works on Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) using Rayleigh scattering,” he says. “Laser pulses are sent through the fibre.
When something as heavy as an elephant moves nearby, vibrations bounce back with a unique signature — based on weight, pressure, and sound.”
Once detected:
• The Central DAS server processes the signal
• Remote DAS units track the exact location
• Alarm hooters alert stations and level crossing gates
For every one kilometre of elephant corridor, nearly 2.5 km of optical fibre is laid.
On the Alipurduar–Siliguri block alone, 47 km is already operational — and remarkably, there hasn’t been a single elephant-train accident there in four years.
Why Elephants Are Especially Vulnerable
Unlike deer or cattle, elephants struggle to quickly move off railway embankments.
“When a train horn sounds, smaller animals scatter immediately,” Sunil explains. “But elephants often run along the track because it’s flatter and easier.
Climbing down the slope takes time — and that’s when collisions happen.”
The danger window is highest between 5 pm and 9 pm, when herds typically move in search of food and water. Nearly 20 trains pass through Binnaguri daily.
At the Red Bank level crossing on the Banarhat–Carron section near National Highway 31C, gateman Ganesh Gaur still remembers a horrifying incident from years ago when six elephants were killed near a bridge.
“Most deaths happen when baby elephants are with the herd,” he says quietly. “Now we have hooters that warn us — but sometimes alarms go off even for cattle or heavy vehicles.”
Challenges and Future Upgrades
Officials admit false alarms do occur — triggered by fallen trees, construction machinery, or livestock.
But improvements are underway, including deeper collaboration with forest departments to extend fibre networks inside forest zones.
The system is also being upgraded to detect rail fractures — adding another layer of safety.
A Nationwide Conservation Push
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has identified 127 vulnerable railway stretches covering over 3,452 km where wildlife movement is intense.
Out of these, 77 high-risk stretches across 14 states — spanning nearly 1,965 km — have been prioritised for urgent mitigation.
Between 2019 and 2024 alone, official records show at least 81 elephant deaths due to train collisions.
Technology Meets Conservation
What’s unfolding in the forests of West Bengal is more than a railway safety upgrade — it’s a life-saving blend of science and wildlife protection.
As trains roar through ancient elephant corridors, invisible fibre cables beneath the soil now serve as silent guardians — listening, analysing, and alerting humans in time to act.
If scaled effectively across India, this smart surveillance could mark a turning point in the long battle to protect one of the country’s most majestic — and endangered — species.
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