HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Oct 17: On Wednesday, loco pilot JD Das and assistant loco pilot Umesh Kumar of train no 15959 Kamrup Express noticed a herd of elephants crossing the railway track between Habaipur and Lamsakhang station at km 166/8 – 167/0. The train was travelling from Guwahati towards Lumding, and the incident occurred at about 20:37 hours. The alert loco pilot and assistant loco pilot applied the emergency brake, saving about 60 wild elephants from colliding with the train. The pilots were also alerted by the Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based Intrusion Detection System (IDS), which is in operation in that section. NF Railway has also planned to gradually install the AI-based IDS in all other elephant corridors across NFR. The system has already been immensely successful in saving the lives of many elephants approaching the railway track from being hit by trains.
The Intrusion Detection System (IDS) is an eco-sustainable solution to protect elephants and improve mobility in train operations. The system is based on AI, and existing optical fibres are used as sensors to identify the movements of wild animals at locations and alert control offices, station masters, gatemen, and loco pilots. It uses a fibre optic-based acoustic system, which operates on the principle of the Rayleigh scattering phenomenon to sense the real-time presence of elephants on the track. The AI-based software can monitor unusual movements up to 40 km on either side of the main unit (i.e., a total stretch of 80 km). Additionally, the IDS also helps detect rail fractures, trespassing on railway tracks, and disaster mitigation by alerting about unauthorised digging near railway tracks, landslides near tracks, etc.
Apart from IDS, NFR ensures that train drivers have good visibility by cutting down long bushes and forest growth. NFR has been taking various initiatives to prevent and detect the movement of wild animals, particularly elephants, approaching railway tracks. Several meetings have been conducted with the Forest Department, resulting in the formation of a joint action force by the railway and forest department.
During the calendar year 2023, NFR saved a total of 414 elephants, and 383 elephants have been saved as of October 16, 2024.
