Deadly tracks: Why Assam’s railways are turning into elephant kill zones

Guwahati, Dec 20:  At 2.17 am on the intervening night of Saturday, Assam’s rail tracks turned into a killing field once again. Near Changjurai village in Hojai district, the newly launched Sairang–New Delhi Rajdhani Express ploughed into a herd of elephants, killing seven, including three adults and four calves, and leaving one calf injured.

The train derailed and the passengers escaped unhurt. The elephants, however, did not. The collision immediately disrupted rail traffic across the Lumding division.

Nine trains were cancelled, 13 regulated and two, short-terminated, Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) chief spokesperson Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said. Train movement on the Lumding–Guwahati down line was affected following the derailment of Train No. 20507. But while rail services were restored, the deeper wound remains open.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma ordered a detailed inquiry, directing the Forest Department to probe the circumstances and suggest measures to strengthen wildlife corridor safety, particularly during low-visibility conditions.

Nagaon divisional forest officer Suhash Kadam pointed to heavy fog as a possible contributing factor. It was not an accident in isolation. It was a familiar, grim pattern replaying itself on Assam’s rail lines. 

(Photo:PTI)

For conservationists, however, fog is only part of the story. “This tragedy exposes why focusing only on designated corridors is ineffective,” said Dr. Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, Secretary General of Aaranyak.

He clarified that the collision did not occur in an officially notified elephant corridor, underscoring how outdated planning fails to match the reality of elephant movement.

Elephants, Talukdar explained, do not recognise administrative maps. They follow migratory routes shaped over generations, routes now sliced apart by railway tracks running through forests and feeding grounds.

The numbers tell a brutal story. According to data compiled by conservationists, Assam recorded 71 human deaths and 41 elephant deaths this year due to human–elephant conflict.

Between 2000 and 2023, nearly 1,400 people and 1,209 elephants lost their lives in such encounters.

Of the elephant deaths over the past 23 years, electrocution remains the leading cause, claiming 209 lives. Train collisions, however, have killed 67 elephants, turning rail lines into silent predators.

Winter makes matters worse. “Elephant deaths on Assam’s tracks occur especially during winter, when elephants move in search of food. Fog during this period severely reduces visibility for locomotive pilots,” Talukdar said.

Railways and forest officials point to mitigation measures such as warning signage, speed restrictions, patrolling, sensor-based alert systems. On paper, the safeguards exist. On the ground, elephants continue to die.

What’s missing, conservationists argue, is real-time coordination. “What is needed is timely information on elephant movement near tracks and immediate communication with railway authorities so caution notices can be issued and trains slowed down,” Talukdar said.

He stressed the need to involve local communities, village headmen, eco-development committees, Forest Management Committees and Village Defence Patrol groups, in monitoring elephant movement and relaying alerts.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Saturday observed that courts would always lean in favour of animals, which suffer silently when their migration paths are blocked by human activity and commercial ventures.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi made the observation while hearing a batch of petitions filed by hotel and resort owners in the Nilgiris in January, noting that the issue required detailed consideration.

“All of you are here for commercial purposes and within an elephant corridor. These constructions interfere with elephant movement. The benefit must go to these animals, who are silent victims of these commercial developments,” the Bench said.

The deaths in Hojai were not just numbers. They were calves crushed beside adults, a herd torn apart in darkness, and another reminder that Assam’s development is racing ahead while its safeguards limp behind. Seven elephants died in minutes. The warning they leave behind should not be ignored, again.