Did you know? This AI system helps stop elephant-train collisions in India

Indian Railways' Gajraj Suraksha uses AI, optical fibre cable and an Intrusion Detection System to spot elephants near railway tracks, giving train crews enough time to slow down and help prevent fatal accidents.

In Short

• AI detects elephants before they reach railway tracks
• Optical fibre cable sends instant alerts to railway staff
• Indian Railways plans deployment across elephant corridors

Did you know that Indian Railways is using AI and optical fibre cable technology to help save elephants from deadly train accidents? Called Gajraj Suraksha, the new Intrusion Detection System is designed to detect elephants as they move close to railway tracks and alert railway officials before a collision can happen.

The move comes after around 200 elephants were killed in train accidents over the past decade.

By combining artificial intelligence with an existing optical fibre network, Indian Railways hopes to make train travel safer while protecting wildlife across some of the country's busiest elephant corridors.

HOW GAJRAJ SURAKSHA WORKS

Gajraj Suraksha detects pressure waves and vibrations created by elephants as they walk near railway tracks. These vibrations are picked up by optical fibre cables, allowing the system to identify elephant movement up to 200 metres before the animals reach the tracks.

The Intrusion Detection System then sends an alert to nearby station masters. They immediately inform locomotive pilots, giving them enough time to slow down or stop trains and avoid a collision. The system is claimed to detect potential collisions with an accuracy of 99.5 per cent.

WHERE IT WILL BE INSTALLED

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has announced that the AI-powered system will be installed in elephant-prone areas across West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam, Kerala, parts of Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu.

Indian Railways plans to roll it out across around 700 km of railway tracks covering elephant corridors.

The Northeast Frontier Railway has been chosen to lead the rollout. The technology is already operational on a stretch of around 70 km, with wider deployment planned in phases.

A COST-EFFECTIVE WAY TO PROTECT WILDLIFE

The estimated cost of deploying the system across 700 km is about Rs 181 crore. Since it uses the railway's existing optical fibre network, it offers a practical way to improve railway safety while helping reduce elephant deaths caused by train accidents.

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