Indian Railways is working closely with technology and wildlife experts to develop an AI-driven high-power camera system that can capture and identify images of wild animals—including elephants and lions—near tracks even in deep night conditions. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared this initiative with the media, emphasizing the urgency to prevent wildlife deaths along rail corridors, particularly in sensitive elephant and tiger ranges.

The AI-enabled cameras under development are expected to detect wildlife movement from up to half a kilometer away and relay images in real time to locomotive pilots. Once fully developed, these cameras will be mounted on the top of locomotives, providing enhanced visibility ahead of trains passing through forested and wildlife corridor areas.

By October 2026, officials expect concrete progress on camera installation across priority sections of the rail network. In addition to the camera project, Indian Railways has already laid Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) along tracks in several areas falling inside elephant and tiger corridors. This infrastructure enables instant alerts from long distances if elephants—especially—are detected approaching the tracks, complementing other safety measures and speeding up response time for oncoming trains.

The initiative comes against a backdrop of recent tragic incidents where elephants have been killed after being struck by trains.

In late December 2025, a high-speed passenger train collided with a herd of elephants in Assam’s Hojai district, killing seven wild Asiatic elephants and injuring a calf. The accident also led to the partial derailment of the Rajdhani Express, though there were no reported human casualties. Railway officials said the train driver spotted the large herd and applied emergency brakes, but several elephants could not be saved despite efforts to slow the train.

Only days earlier, another train collision in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district resulted in at least one elephant killed and a calf severely injured when they were struck while crossing the tracks around 3:45 AM. Forest officials rushed to the scene to assist and rescue the injured animal in the early morning incident.

In addition, a tusker was killed in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district earlier in September 2025, after being hit by a speeding train near the Rajgangpur range. Despite immediate efforts by veterinary teams to provide care, the adult female elephant succumbed to her injuries before she could be treated at a siding location.

According to the Times of India, these and similar incidents have contributed to at least four elephant deaths on railway tracks in 2025, taking the total number of such fatalities in India since 2019 to approximately 94. This figure underscores the ongoing challenge faced by wildlife authorities and Indian Railways in managing the surge in wildlife-train collisions.

Conservationists note that elephant train collisions often occur at night or in low-visibility conditions in forest corridors where infrastructure development intersects natural animal movement routes. As India’s forest fragmentation and human encroachment increase, so too does the likelihood of such tragic encounters.

The new AI camera system is designed to reduce these incidents by detecting animals sooner and providing locomotive pilots with enough time to take evasive action or slow trains ahead of high-risk areas. Railway officials say that integrating AI with real-time alerts will be crucial not only for elephant safety but also for protecting other large wildlife species in tiger and elephant corridors throughout the country.

Furthermore, the combination of AI cameras, OFC-based alert systems, and ongoing coordination between the railways and forest departments is expected to create a more comprehensive wildlife safety network. This is in line with broader efforts to leverage technology for conservation while ensuring uninterrupted rail operations.

While experts stress that no single measure can completely eliminate collisions, they emphasize that rapid technological deployment, ecological planning, and inter-agency cooperation could meaningfully reduce wildlife fatalities and foster coexistence between India’s rail network and its treasured wildlife.