ECoR to Install Devices to Check Elephant Deaths by Train Hits

Bhubaneswar: The East Coast Railway (ECoR) is planning to install Intrusion Detection System (IDS) in wilds elephant-prone areas to prevent the death of wild pachyderms due to train hits.

Acting on the instruction of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the ECoR has adopted the IDS System for saving the life of elephants. The Ministry of Railways has sanctioned Rs 79.12 crore to the ECoR for installing IDS at sensitive locations of elephant passing zones and elephant corridors.

In the first phase, the project would be implemented at six railway sections consisting of 200 Km stretch under Sambalpur and Khurda Road Railway Divisions of ECoR. These are Maneswar-Bamur, Turekela-Lakhna, Arand-Arang Mahanadi and Norla-Theruvali in Sambalpur Division and Kapilas Road-Rajathgarh-Angul, Rambha-Ganjam and Nayagarh-Porjanpur railway sections under Khurda Road Railway Division.

The IDS detects wild elephants approaching the railway tracks and alerts railway officials to take immediate steps to avert any mishap. It uses a fibre optic-based acoustic system working on the principle of scattering phenomenon to sense the real-time presence of elephants on the track.

The IDS can monitor unusual movements up to a stretch of 60 km. IDS will also help detect rail fracture, trespassing on railway track and unauthorised digging near railway tracks.