Overview
- The Environment Ministry’s Project Elephant division convened a national workshop at WII, Dehradun on March 10–11 to align rail and wildlife authorities on next steps.
- Joint teams surveyed 127 railway stretches totaling about 3,452.4 km and prioritised 77 stretches spanning roughly 1,965.2 km across 14 states for targeted action.
- The recommended package comprises 503 ramps or level crossings, 72 bridge extensions or modifications, 39 fencing or trenching structures, four exit ramps, 65 underpasses and 22 overpasses.
- DAS-based intrusion detection pilots have been commissioned in four North East Frontier Railway sections in Assam, covering 64.03 km of corridors and 141 km of block sections, with replication planned in North Bengal and parts of Odisha.
- Planned measures include elevating a 3.5‑km Azara–Kamakhya segment in Assam’s Rani–Garbhanga–Deepor Beel corridor and operating an AI camera early-warning system at Madukkarai, Tamil Nadu to trigger train slowdowns when elephants approach tracks.