NEW DELHI: Indian Railways is now employing an Artificial Intelligence-enabled Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) system to prevent and detect the intrusion of wildlife, particularly elephants, onto railway tracks in various regions.
The system simultaneously alerts loco pilots, station masters, and the control room about the movement of elephants on or near the tracks, enabling preventive action to avoid collisions.
Currently, according to an official source from the Ministry of Railways, the DAS is being deployed over 141 route kilometres at critical and vulnerable locations identified by the forest department under the Northeast Frontier Railway.
It is being used as an effective intrusion detection system for elephant protection. As a result of this AI-enabled DAS technology, the Ministry claimed on Thursday that elephant deaths caused by collisions with trains have decreased from 26 in 2013 to just 12 in 2024, registering a reduction of more than 50%.
The Ministry sources further added that the installation of this intrusion detection system has been sanctioned for identified corridors covering a total length of 1,158 rail kilometres at a total cost of Rs 208 crore, under the NFR, ECOR, SR, NR, SER, NER, WR, and ECR railway zones.
“The installation of this system is in progress over ECOR, covering a distance of 349.4 route kilometres, Southern Railway covering 55.58 route kilometres, and North Eastern Railway (NER) covering 36 route kilometres also,” the source stated.
In addition, innovative ‘Honey Bee’ buzzer devices have been installed at level crossings to deter the movement of elephants and other wildlife near railway tracks, a senior railway official added.
Railways are also now utilising thermal vision cameras to detect the presence of wild animals on straight track sections during the night or in conditions of poor visibility.
These cameras alert loco pilots to the presence of wildlife. When asked about further steps being taken to prevent elephant-train collisions, the railway official said that elephant trackers, engaged by the forest department, are being deployed across forest areas with elephant habitats to provide timely alerts to station masters and loco pilots.
“The construction of underpasses and ramps for elephant movement, to pre-warn loco pilots, and the clearance of vegetation and edible items surrounding the track within railway land are also being implemented in areas with active populations of elephants and other wildlife in close proximity to railway tracks,” the official added.