Project reduces elephant deaths on Indian railway line to zero

June 2008: Following a study carried out by the Wildlife Trust of India and the International Fund for Animal Welfare, no elephants have been killed for 5 years by trains on a railway track that crosses the forests of the Rajaji National Park in the northern Indian.

The railway line, which joins the city of Haridwar in the foothills of the Himalayas to the busy capital of the Uttarakhand state, Dehradun, had seen 20 elephant deaths between 1987 and March 2002, including those of tuskers and pregnant females.

The study was initiated after a particularly gruesome accident on the railway track in early 2001. The Rapid Action Project study found that several natural and man-made factors were forcing the elephants to cross the tracks, or trapping them on the tracks.

Causes of accidents
 

• Perennial water sources on one side of the track forced the elephants to cross during the dry summer season.
• Sharp and blind turns and thick vegetation along the track affected visibility of the train drivers.
• Steep banks on both sides of the track at certain sections trapped the elephants on the track when a train was approaching.
• The speed and frequency of the trains passing through these tracks was also found to be higher than the prescribed limit.
• Garbage dumped along the track attracted the elephants to the trackside.

"In September 2001, the state forest department organised a high-level workshop attended by relevant government officials and NGO representatives to finalise the mitigation measures. Based on this, the forest department, Northern railways and WTI began the implementation in February 2002," says Anil Kumar Singh, who coordinated this project.

Night patrols
Joint night patrolling by the Forest Department, Northern Railways and WTI, began along the critical sections of the track to observe elephant movement. The nearby railway stations were informed by walky-talky systems if elephant herds were observed near the track. The information is then conveyed to the drivers of the trains passing through the area, allowing them to reduce speed or stop the trains. The expenses of the patrolling party were borne by WTI-IFAW.

GS Pandey, director, Rajaji NP said, "The joint patrolling at critical section of railway track in Rajaji National Park has been a success. However, it is not foolproof, and so long term solution through diversion of rail traffic via Rishikesh to Dehradun has to be sought."

More water sources
In addition to the patrolling, regular de-silting of water bodies in the southern side began so that elephants were not forced to cross the track during the dry season. One of the larger tanks was repaired and de-silted by WTI-IFAW, while Indian Railways flattened the steep banks along the tracks to facilitate animal movement.