Chapter 10
Railways and Wildlife: A Case Study
of Train-Elephant Collisions in Northern
West Bengal, India
Mukti Roy and Raman Sukumar
Abstract The extensive network of the Indian Railways cuts through several
forested landscapes, resulting in collisions of trains with a variety of wildlife species, including the largest land mammal–the elephant. In India, railway lines cross
elephant habitats in several states, with accidents that resulted in more than 200
elephant deaths between 1987 and 2015. As the 161-km Siliguri–Alipurduar track
in the northern West Bengal state witnesses train–elephant collisions frequently, we
developed a case study there with the objectives of mapping locations of collisions
and generating a susceptibility map showing locations prone to accidents. We
mapped elephant crossing points and movement paths along this railway track, as
well as accident locations. Between 1974 and 2015, collisions occurred throughout
the line, although there were several hotspots where elephant deaths were concentrated. A disproportionate number of accidents occurred during the night. Crop
raiding in villages and train elephant accidents seem to be closely related, probably
due to an increased frequency of elephant movement near or across this railway
track during the cultivation season. Male elephants were much more prone to
accidents, possibly because of behavioural characteristics that make them cross
railway tracks more frequently. To reduce the frequency of accidents in this region,
we recommend reducing the speed of trains, limiting the operation of trains during
at night, provisioning overpasses and underpasses, using communications technology, realigning a portion of the track, and fencing the track except for corridor
areas.
Keywords Train elephant accidents Á Elephant deaths Á Crop raiding Á Accident
susceptibility map Á Northern West Bengal
M. Roy (&)
Asian Nature Conservation Foundation, c/o Centre for Ecological Sciences,
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, Karnataka, India
e-mail: muktiroy@rediffmail.com
R. Sukumar
Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science,
Bangalore 560012, Karnataka, India
e-mail: rsuku@ces.iisc.ernet.in
© The Author(s) 2017
L. Borda-de-Água et al. (eds.), Railway Ecology,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-57496-7_10
157
Railways and Wildlife: A Case Study
of Train-Elephant Collisions in Northern
West Bengal, India
Mukti Roy and Raman Sukumar
Abstract The extensive network of the Indian Railways cuts through several
forested landscapes, resulting in collisions of trains with a variety of wildlife species, including the largest land mammal–the elephant. In India, railway lines cross
elephant habitats in several states, with accidents that resulted in more than 200
elephant deaths between 1987 and 2015. As the 161-km Siliguri–Alipurduar track
in the northern West Bengal state witnesses train–elephant collisions frequently, we
developed a case study there with the objectives of mapping locations of collisions
and generating a susceptibility map showing locations prone to accidents. We
mapped elephant crossing points and movement paths along this railway track, as
well as accident locations. Between 1974 and 2015, collisions occurred throughout
the line, although there were several hotspots where elephant deaths were concentrated. A disproportionate number of accidents occurred during the night. Crop
raiding in villages and train elephant accidents seem to be closely related, probably
due to an increased frequency of elephant movement near or across this railway
track during the cultivation season. Male elephants were much more prone to
accidents, possibly because of behavioural characteristics that make them cross
railway tracks more frequently. To reduce the frequency of accidents in this region,
we recommend reducing the speed of trains, limiting the operation of trains during
at night, provisioning overpasses and underpasses, using communications technology, realigning a portion of the track, and fencing the track except for corridor
areas.
Keywords Train elephant accidents Á Elephant deaths Á Crop raiding Á Accident
susceptibility map Á Northern West Bengal
M. Roy (&)
Asian Nature Conservation Foundation, c/o Centre for Ecological Sciences,
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, Karnataka, India
e-mail: muktiroy@rediffmail.com
R. Sukumar
Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science,
Bangalore 560012, Karnataka, India
e-mail: rsuku@ces.iisc.ernet.in
© The Author(s) 2017
L. Borda-de-Água et al. (eds.), Railway Ecology,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-57496-7_10
157