MoEFCC Organizes 2-day Workshop to Address Challenge of Elephant-train Collisions

The Project Elephant Division of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India, organized a two-day national workshop on “Policy Implementation for Minimizing Elephant Mortalities on Railway Tracks” at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, on 10-11 March 2026. The event brought together 40 participants, including senior representatives from MoEFCC’s Project Elephant Division, Ministry of Railways, Forest Departments of elephant-range states and leading conservation scientists. Key railway zones represented included East Central Railway, East Coast Railway, North Eastern Railway, North East Frontier Railway, Northern Railway, South Eastern Railway, Southern Railway and South Western Railway.

The workshop included technical sessions on elephant ecology, infrastructure planning and biodiversity conservation, stressing the need for joint planning where railways cross wildlife corridors. Participants examined state-level data, case studies and key collision drivers – habitat fragmentation, land-use changes, train speeds, night operations and seasonal elephant movements.

Regional working groups reviewed mitigation efforts across major landscapes (Shivalik-Gangetic Plains, Central India & Eastern Ghats, North-East India, Western Ghats), identified gaps and suggested landscape-specific strategies. Best practices shared included early-warning systems, sensor/AI detection technologies, GIS monitoring and community-based alert and patrolling networks.(updated on 12th March 2026)