Intrusion Detection System adopted by ECoR to reduce train-elephant collisions

With Odisha reporting 40 jumbo deaths due to train hits in a decade, the East Coast Railway (ECoR) has adopted an innovative step to check elephant deaths on rail tracks in sensitive locations of pachyderm movements in Khurda Road and Sambalpur Railway Divisions.

Official sources said that the ECoR has decided to install Intrusion Detection System (IDS) in elephant movement areas to prevent the death of wild elephants due to train hits.

The IDS will help to detect wild elephants approaching the railway tracks and alert railway officials to help to avert elephant deaths.

The optical fibres will be used as sensors to identify the movements of wild animals at locations and alert control offices, station masters, gatemen, and loco pilots. 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 Intrusion Detection System can monitor unusual movements up to a stretch of 60 kilometres. The IDS will also help in detecting rail fractures, trespassing on railway track, and alert about disaster mitigation due to unauthorised digging near railway tracks, and landslides near tracks, an official said.

The system's primary application is an Intrusion Detection System (Elephant Detection) based on Distributed Acoustics Sensing (DAS) technique, which should locate and detect the presence of elephants near the track so that speed of trains in the sections will be reduced.

The system will be capable of sending alarms to the loco pilot unit via SMS/Internet with GPS tag, providing information about the location of elephants. The system shall detect and locate moving elephants near or on the track areas of ballasted track, the official said.

Stating that the communication unit will display elephant movement audio-visual alarm on the local display, the official said it will also send information to the central DAS server for notification to the relevant assistant station manager, gateman, field users over the railway's existing communication network OFC/Railnet/Ip-MPLS or LTE network.

The project aims at developing an affordable solution for large-scale monitoring and early warning of elephant intrusion. After analysing the signal processing methods, the most suitable technique for real-time detection of elephants is chosen and simulated, he said.

"Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had directed all zonal Railways to work towards inclusive development in all areas," a senior official said.

Acting in this direction, East Coast Railway has adopted the IDS System for saving the life of elephants. Presently, ECoR obtained a sanction of Rs 79.12 crore for installing IDS at sensitive locations of elephant passing zone and elephant corridors, he said.

Six railway sections consisting of 200 kilometres stretch under Sambalpur and Khurda Road Railway Divisions of East Coast Railway have been taken up for action in the first phase.

These railway sections are Maneswar-Bamur, Turekela-Lakhna, Arand-Arang Mahanadi, Norla-Theruvali in Sambalpur Division and Kapilas Road-Rajathgarh-Angul, Rambha-Ganjam and Nayagarh-Porjanpur under Khurda Road Railway Divisions of East Coast Railway.

Official sources said the IDS was first implemented in the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) on an experimental basis in the Chalsa-Hasimara Railway Section of the Dooars area under the Alipurduar Division and between Lanka-Hawaipur Railway Section under Lumding Division.

After the success of the pilot project, NFR has now installed Intrusion Detection System (IDS) in all its elephant corridors in Assam and North Bengal to prevent the death of wild elephants due to train hits, the official said, adding that the pilot project has already been immensely successful in saving the lives of many elephants approaching railway tracks from being hit by trains.