NEW DELHI: Days after eight elephants were killed in Assam after a herd crossing the tracks was hit by a Rajdhani Express, the Railway ministry has announced that an AI-based system in place to detect presence of wild animals around rail lines will be extended to a further 981-km track in the northeastern region.

The ministry has announced the award of a tender to install the AI-enabled Intrusion Detection System (IDS).

The IDS, which gives early alerts to loco pilots in case elephants come on the railway track, has already been implemented at 141-route km section on pilot basis on the Northeast Frontier Railway.

These are Madarihat-Nagrakata under Alipurduar division, Habaipur-Lamsakhang-Patharkhola-Lumding under Lumding division, Rangiya division's Kamakhya-Azara-Mirza section and Titabar-Mariani-Nakachari under Tinsukia.

The incident took place early morning on December 20 when the Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express hit the herd in Changjurai village in Assam's Hojai district. Five coaches and the train's engine also derailed.

"Indian Railways has already deployed Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled Intrusion Detection System (IDS) using Distributed Acoustic System (DAS) for detecting presence of elephants on railway tracks. With the new tender, the total coverage will extend to 1,122 route km," the ministry said.

Elaborating on the functioning of the IDS, the ministry said the system generates real-time alerts for loco pilots, station masters and control rooms about the movement of elephants in proximity of railway tracks, enabling timely preventive action.

Besides ISD, the ministry said that AI-based cameras will be installed to alert loco pilots 0.5 km in advance to save lions, tigers and other wild animals along with elephants.

"Indian Railways has been taking continuous efforts to prevent wildlife casualties, particularly elephants, on railway tracks through technology-based solutions," it said.

"The deployment and expansion of the AI-enabled Intrusion Detection System using Distributed Acoustic System (DAS) reflects Indian Railways' commitment to wildlife conservation and safe train operations," it added.

On October 20, the Northeast Frontier Railway zone said that IDS would be rolled out in its network by April, 2026 to prevent the death of elephants by speeding trains.

The NFR had first installed IDS at two locations of the Lumding and Alipurduar divisions in 2022.

"The target date for completion of this expanded project has been set for April 2026, by which the system is expected to be fully functional across all identified elephant corridors," the NFR had said.