Thiruvananthapuram: Elephants continue to be run over by trains as Railways delays installing an AI-enabled intrusion detection system along the busy Palakkad–Walayar stretch linking Kerala and Tamil Nadu.On Friday, an elephant and a calf were killed after being hit by Mangalore-Chennai Superfast Express on the stretch at 11.45pm. A herd was crossing and the train could not be stopped on time. Though existing measures, including foot patrols and AI cameras are supposed to be there, the loco pilot could not be informed about the presence of the herd. More than 100 trains travel along the stretch between Palakkad and Coimbatore to different destinations.Initially promised by Dec 2024, the intrusion detection system remains in limbo, with officials now blaming the delay on a change in technology and the need for repeated trials. Southern Railway has claimed for the past two years that the detection system is at an advanced stage of implementation, but has yet to set a deadline for its completion.The system that works on distributed acoustic sensors and camera-based sensors, generate alerts for loco-pilots, station masters in Walayar-Kanjikode section and the control room about presence of elephants near railway tracks.A railway official from Palakkad division said the technology was being deployed for the first time and that extensive trials were needed to perfect it. “The system should not mistake a deer for an elephant and trigger a false alert. It should also function without glitches after commissioning,” the official said. The system here is supposed to be slightly different from the one installed in Northeast Frontier Railway.P S Easa, an elephant expert, said that solar fencing will offer an immediate relief and it had worked earlier. “It is easy to maintain. There is no need to wait for such advanced technology. It is better to keep the elephants in its own habitat. There is no need for underpass and such constructions too.”The Tamil Nadu forest department has already introduced its AI-based elephant detection system along the tracks that pass through Madukkarai range towards Coimbatore.
