Tragic Train Accident In Assam: 8 Elephants Killed, 5 Rajdhani Express Coaches Derailed

BREAKING: In the early hours of Saturday, 20507 DN Anand Vihar-Sairang Rajdhani Express hit a herd of elephants at the Jamunamukh-Kampur section under the Lumding Division of Northeast Frontier Railway, leaving eight of the animals dead.

The incident occurred at around 2:17 AM near Changjurai in the Hojai district. According to forest officials, the herd was attempting to cross the tracks when they were hit by the New Delhi-bound train. In addition to the eight fatalities, one elephant was left injured.

The collision was severe enough to cause the train’s engine and five passenger coaches to derail. No passengers or Railway staff were injured in the accident.

Forest and Railway officials are currently at the site working together to clear the tracks. Train movement through this section remains suspended 

‘Regular Train Service To Resume Soon’

Northeast Frontier Railway Chief Public Relations Officer, Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, expressed his grief on the recent Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express collision with a herd of elephants. He said ANI, “The Rajdhani Express, en route from Sairang to Anand Vihar, was approaching when the loco pilot spotted a herd of about 100 elephants crossing the railway tracks. He applied the emergency brakes, but some elephants were struck by the train.”

He further stated that because of the loco pilot's quick response, no passenger was injured. However, six elephants were killed, and four coaches and the engine derailed.

Briefing on the restoration process, Sharma said, “Of the total 600 passengers in the train, the 200 passengers in the affected coaches have been safely shifted to other coaches and the train has resumed its journey.” He also mentioned that the restoration work is underway and will be finished promptly. The derailed coaches will soon be moved to resume regular train service, as only a single line is functioning currently.

Railway authorities informed that trains scheduled to pass through that section are being diverted to the UP line. Meanwhile, technological improvements in Indian Railways (IR) are a continuous process. There are several Artificial Intelligence-based predictive maintenance applications, the Ministry of Railways said in a press release. Pilot initiatives involving AI-driven predictive maintenance of the Signalling system are being undertaken over Indian Railways at some of the stations to evaluate its efficacy. Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled Intrusion Detection System (IDS) using Distributed Acoustic System (DAS) for detecting the presence of elephants on Railway tracks is implemented in 141 RKms section on NF Railway and further tenders have been awarded for 981 RKms section of Indian Railways.

The system is designed to generate alerts for loco pilots, station masters and the Control Room about the movement of elephants in proximity of railway tracks, for taking timely preventive action. 

(With ANI inputs)