New Delhi : An incident of a train accident occurred in Assam’s Hojai district in the wee hours of Saturday. According to a statement by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NF Railway), the accident occurred around 2.15 am on Saturday, when a herd of elephants suddenly came in front of the Rajdhani Express. The loco pilot, observing the situation, applied the emergency brake.
The incident triggered prompt action from the Lumding Division of the NF Railway, under which the affected Hojai district falls. Senior railway officers, including the General Manager of NF Railway and the Divisional Railway Manager of Lumding, rushed to the site. Under their supervision, the passengers of the affected berths were temporarily accommodated in the vacant berths available in other coaches.
The railway officials noted that once the train reaches Guwahati, additional coaches would be added to the train to accommodate passengers, and the train would resume its journey to the destination. The incident has also caused a disruption in the railway traffic in the affected Jamunamukh–Kampur section of the NF Railway. A forest official from the state’s Nagaon Division, Subhash Kadam, who rushed to the spot following the incident, told PTI that several trains, which were scheduled, are now being diverted along the UP line.
The Wildlife Institute of India, in consultation with the ministry and other stakeholders, has also issued guidelines titled ‘Eco-friendly Measures to Mitigate Impacts of Linear Infrastructure’ to help agencies design railways and other projects in ways that reduce human-animal conflicts. Singh added that capacity-building workshops were conducted for railway officials at the Wildlife Institute of India in 2023 and 2024 to raise awareness on elephant conservation and protection.
A detailed report titled ‘Suggested Measures to Mitigate Elephant & Other Wildlife Train Collisions on Vulnerable Railway Stretches in India’ had also been prepared after surveys across 127 railway stretches covering 3,452 km. The minister said several measures have been taken jointly by the Environment Ministry and the Railways to prevent such accidents. These include imposing speed restrictions in elephant habitats, pilot projects such as seismic sensor-based detection of elephants near tracks and construction of underpasses, ramps and fencing at vulnerable points.
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