An elephant was mowed down by a train in the Mongpong forest area along the Dooars railway tracks that connect Siliguri Junction with Alipurdaur Junction on Wednesday evening, prompting an official investigation by the state forest department.

Senior officials from the forest department and the railways inspected the spot where the Sealdah-bound Kanchankanya Express knocked down the sub-adult female.

According to a senior forester, an inquiry has been launched to determine whether the train was exceeding the speed limit when it dashed into the animal.

The incident occurred between Sevoke and Bagrakote in the lower Mongpong forest area. The site is around 27km from Siliguri and within the Kalimpong forest division.

“A herd of elephants was present near the tracks. It appears that one of them strayed onto the railway line and was struck by the Sealdah-bound Kanchankanya Express at around 7.10pm,” Bhaskar JV, the chief conservator of forests (CCF) (wildlife, north), said.

“It was a sub-adult female elephant and its body was found around 10 metres below the tracks,” he added.

The CCF also said that an inquiry had been initiated and the investigation would focus on whether the train violated existing speed restrictions. “Preliminary findings suggest that the elephant was not dragged by the train engine after the collision,” said
the forester.

The foresters clarified that speed limits — ranging from 30km to 50km per hour — had been enforced along different stretches of the railway route that passes through reserve forests and elephant crossing zones. The restrictions were decided upon in coordination with the railways and have helped prevent such incidents over the past two years.

The last recorded case of an elephant death on the tracks occurred near Rajabhatkhawa in the Buxa Tiger Reserve, Alipurduar district, in 2023.

Despite these measures, conservationists and wildlife organisations have voiced concerns over the recurrence of such accidents and asked for stringent preventive actions.

Animesh Bose, the programme coordinator of the Himalayan Nature & Adventure Foundation and a veteran wildlife conservationist in north Bengal, highlighted the vulnerability of the 170km-long stretch of the railway line from Siliguri to Alipurduar.

“This route was converted from meter gauge into broad gauge in 2004 and passes through ecologically sensitive zones, including the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, Gorumara National Park, Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary, Jaldapara National Park and the Buxa Tiger Reserve,” Bose said.

He said that since the conversion of the railway tracks, around 70 elephants died on the route after being hit by trains.

“While the speed restrictions are in place, the enforcement remains critical. We have urged the forest department to urgently take up the matter with the railways and conduct a detailed investigation to verify whether the prescribed speed limits were observed during this incident,” he added.