Railways planning to use AI-based system to prevent elephant deaths on tracks
By Arun Kumar Das
New Delhi, Dec 30 (BVI) Aiming to prevent killing of elephants on train tracks, Indian Railways is exploring the use of latest AI-based technology equipped with multilayered system with seismic sensors and RF cameras to protect the wild animals across the country.
Recently, in the early hours of December 20, the Rajdhani Express hit a herd of elephants in Changjurai village in Assam’s Hojai district, leading to the deaths of eight animals.
The impact also caused the derailment of five coaches and the locomotive disrupting train operation in the section.
Currently, though Indian Railways has deployed Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled Intrusion Detection System (IDS) using Distributed Acoustic System (DAS) to raise alarms after detecting presence of elephants on tracks, the system seems to be inadequate as there are many cases of false alarms.
According to a senior Railway official in Railway Board, the fibre-based system has caused false alarms at least hundred times near Sukinda in Odisha creating confusion in loco pilot’s mind and as a result we are planning to upgrade the system with the latest technology.
Every year, dozens of elephants are killed on India’s railway tracks, particularly in forested rail corridors of eastern and southern India.
For Indian Railways, the challenge is as much technological as it is ecological.
According to the Railways, the technology under consideration, though presently being used for providing perimeter security around sensitive installations, has also been used by several game and wildlife parks in Europe and Africa for wildlife security as well as warning highway traffic of potential danger of migrating wildlife.
The challenge is how to detect elephants early enough, reliably enough, to slow or stop a train moving at speed—often at night, in heavy rain, through dense vegetation.
Over the past few years, Indian Railways has turned to advanced sensing technology, most notably an Elephant Intrusion Detection System (EIDS) that uses optical fibre cables laid along railway tracks.
However, the field experiences suggest that future systems must move toward from fibre-based elephant detection systems to seismic ground sensors combined with thermal or radar confirmation, supported by artificial intelligence.
Since the fibre-based system detects the movement from the vibrations created by the elephants, the problem is that the forest is full of vibrations.Cattle, wild boar, deer, and even humans walking near tracks generate detectable signals. Tractors, forest department vehicles, maintenance equipment, falling trees, flowing water during monsoon, and strong winds shaking roots can all cause vibrations which confuse the whole system.
False alarms, especially during monsoon—can lead to repeated train slowdowns. Over time, this creates alert fatigue among staff and resistance to acting on warnings.
According to the Railways, the multilayered elephant detection system is the next step for the public transporter in which seismic sensors should replace optical fibre as the primary ground-detection layer, with fibre retained where already installed and thermal systems used selectively.
As Indian Railways expands these systems, there is an urgent requirement of detecting wild animal movement accurately, early, and consistently, without overwhelming operators or disrupting train operations and for that listening to the ground itself may be more reliable than listening through a cable buried beside it. (BVI)
