Elephant herd of about 90 safely crosses tracks as Rajdhani Express halted near Hojai
A group of roughly 90 elephants, mainly calves, was allowed to cross railway tracks near Hojai after forest staff stopped the Dibrugarh-Delhi Rajdhani Express.
Around dawn on Wednesday, forest staff in the Lanka range observed a herd of roughly 90 elephants, most of them calves, moving toward a railway crossing near Habaipur station in Hojai district. They immediately warned the railways, and two teams were dispatched: one led by forester-I Sashanka Roy to stop the approaching Dibrugarh-Delhi Rajdhani Express, and another led by Manik Baruah to block any train from the opposite direction.
The train halted in time, allowing the herd to cross safely. Northeast Frontier Railway officials credited the forest department’s alert, an AI-based intrusion-detection system, and temporary speed restrictions for the successful outcome. The same corridor saw safe crossings on Aug. 15 and 16 with other express services. Authorities continue to employ measures such as night-time speed limits, patrols, honey-bee sound deterrents, and under-pass construction to reduce elephant-train collisions.
Why it matters
It shows how coordinated wildlife protection can prevent dangerous train-elephant collisions in India.
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