A slew of initiatives, including an AI-based alert system, helped save the lives of 160 elephants under the jurisdiction of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) in 2025, senior railway officials said on Thursday.
“The NFR has been consistently undertaking proactive and technology-driven initiatives to prevent trains from mowing down elephants and to ensure safe and uninterrupted train operations under its network. The efforts yielded results, with over 160 elephant lives successfully protected in 2025 alone,” said K.K. Sharma, the chief public relations officer of the NFR.
He said a major measure to save elephants was the installation of an advanced artificial intelligence (AI)-based intrusion detection system (IDS) by utilising principles of the distributed acoustic system (DAS).
“The system detects elephant movements near railway tracks and instantly provides real-time alerts to loco pilots and control rooms, enabling timely preventive action and enhancing operational safety,” said Sharma.
Railway sources have said that IDS was commissioned in key sections of the NFR that pass through elephant corridors. The system is currently operational in four major sections, including the 52km-long stretch between the Madarihat and Nagrakata stations in the Dooars.
The system has also been introduced in three other stretches in Rangiya, Lumding, and Tinsukia divisions in Assam.
“Altogether, the system is covering 62.7km of elephant corridors and 131km of block sections and has significantly improved safety in sensitive wildlife zones,” said a source.
The installation of the IDS is underway in many divisions, including the Alipurduar division, which covers the entire Dooars route that is known to be vulnerable to elephants and other wild animals.
“Once the installation is done, the IDS will cover all elephant corridors in the NFR, totalling 146.4km, with an overall block section length of 413.42km,” the source said.
Added to it, NFR has introduced “Plan Bee,” another system to reduce elephant deaths on tracks.
The system has been installed at some of the key level crossing gates, where amplified honeybee sounds audible up to 400 metres are used to deter elephants from approaching tracks.
NFR officials have said that they are also working in coordination with the state forest department.
“Many steps, like real-time information sharing, night-time speed restrictions in elephant corridors, temporary speed curbs based on sightings, sensitisation of train crews, installation of cautionary signage and vegetation clearance to improve visibility, have been taken to stop such incidents,” said an official.
“Since 2017, more than 2,000 elephants have been safely protected while crossing railway tracks in the NFR zone,” he added.