Joint action ensures ‘zero elephant deaths’ in rail collisions in 2 years

Alipurduar: For the first time in nearly two decades, not a single elephant has died in a train collision along the Alipurduar–Siliguri rail route over the past two years — a remarkable achievement credited to close coordination between the Forest department and the Railways.

Since its conversion to broad gauge in 2004, the 165-km track, cutting through Buxa, Jaldapara, Gorumara and Chapramari forests, has witnessed 78 elephant deaths. The frequent collisions had sparked public outrage, with environmentalists even demanding the closure of train services through the Dooars.

Determined to break the cycle, both departments began working in tandem. A joint monitoring committee was formed, forest officials were deployed in railway control rooms to provide real-time elephant movement updates, and speed restrictions were strictly enforced in identified elephant corridors. Advanced technology, including an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) installed by the Railways, further strengthened safeguards.

“The last unfortunate incident took place in August 2023. Since then, no elephant deaths have been recorded due to our joint efforts,” said Debendra Shing, Divisional Railway Manager of Alipurduar Division, NFR. “Along with IDS, we are exploring additional technologies to improve monitoring, while forest staff and increased patrolling provide us with live information to regulate train speeds.”

The progress was reviewed on Monday at a state-level coordination meeting held at the DRM office. It was attended by Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), North Bengal, Bhaskar J.V., senior officials from Buxa Tiger Reserve, Jaldapara and Gorumara national parks and representatives of the Railways.

Bhaskar J.V. noted: “This annual review helps us evaluate the effectiveness of safety systems like IDS.

We also discussed how our newly installed CCTV network could share real-time elephant movement data with the Railways. A pilot project will be launched soon to test this integration.”

With elephant corridors along the BG-3 line now clearly demarcated and trains forced to run at reduced speeds through sensitive stretches, both departments believe they have finally found a sustainable model for coexistence between rail traffic and wildlife conservation.