Over 250 elephants saved from collisions in 9 months: NFR

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) on Sunday said more than 250 elephants have been saved from train hits in the last nine months through intensified efforts by all stakeholders in its jurisdiction. From January to September this year, timely interventions by the railway personnel helped save 255 elephants across its Alipurduar, Rangia, Lumding and Tinsukia divisions, NFR chief spokesperson Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said.

A combination of NFR’s technology-driven systems, enhanced vigilance and close coordination with the forest department has led to the success, he said.

The NFR has taken several proactive and technology-driven measures to prevent elephant–train collisions in vulnerable areas.

These include deployment of an AI-based Intrusion Detection System (IDS) using Distributed Acoustic System (DAS) technology, which provides real-time alerts on elephant movement near tracks.