Rajaji: They may be the biggest mammals to walk the Indian jungles but when it comes to railways crossings, these mammoth creatures hardly match up to speeding trains. About 23 km of the railway tracks between the north Indian cities of Haridwar and Dehradun run trough the Rajaji National Park in Uttaranchal and these tracks have become death traps for elephants.In the last 14 years, as many as 18 elephants have been killed in train accidents. The majority of the victims have been adult females, and in one case, both a mother and her calf were killed in the accident.

WTI’s Rapid Action Project conducted a detail study to find out the major causes for these accidents, in response to the death of elephants along the track due to train accidents earlier this year

The study found that many elephants get trapped on the tracks as they are not able to climb over the high mounds on either side of the tracks quick enough to move out of the way of an oncoming train. In two particular sections of the track through Rajaji National Park, steep mounds border the track at blind turnings and have been made worse by dense vegetation cover.

Another factor highlighted by the report is the scarcity of water on one side of the track during peak summer when rainfall is at its lowest and temperatures at their highest. At this time, the animals cross the track looking for water, and the combination of mounds and turnings, made them vulnerable to accidents. An additional factor that may have been drawing the animals to the track could be the density of garbage, including food waste, lying on the sides of the tracks, thrown out from the trains by passengers and caterers. The animals, being attracted to this, are not only in danger of being run down by the trains but they could also die if they consume plastic bags as the bags may get stuck in their digestive systems.

According Railway officials, trains are meant to travel at 35km/hr through this stretch. But several have been found travelling as fast as 72km/hr through the national park. An interesting fact is that most accidents have occurred during the summer and all have occurred between 6.30 in the evening and the early morning hours, making nighttime a vital factor to consider.

Since September 2001, members of the Forest Department, Indian Railways, and representatives of several NGOs have formed a task force and have met several times already to solve this problem. The Railways have declared that the train speed cannot be decreased beyond a certain limit due to the existing traffic along the route and the huge demand for increasing the traffic coming from the state. However, they have ensured that no trains will travel faster than the prescribed speed of 35km/hr. Already, several members of both NGOs and the Indian Railways have done random speed checks while traveling on several of the trains and have not found any of them speeding. Furthermore, the railways has ensured that they will install air breaks in certain night bound trains as well, such that the breaking distance is reduced on sighting wild animals on the track. Vegetation along the blind turnings has been cleared.

Several mounds have been cleared by the Indian Railways, however, a certain number fall on land owned by the Forest Department and therefore it becomes their duty to clear these mounds. The Forest Department is running short of funds for such an operation, and therefore this has not been done.

WTI is putting up signboards warning train drivers of elephant movement along the track. At the railway stations connecting Haridwar and Dehradun, posters pointing out the problem and urging the people to be vigilant and to not dispose of their garbage out the window while traveling in the trains, are being put up. WTI will also put informative posters in drivers’ restrooms at Haridwar and Dehradun stations, so they become more cautious while driving through the Rajaji National Park.

With Dehradun becoming the capital of Uttaranchal, demands for increased development and infrastructure are flowing in from the State Government. These demands will mean an increase in the transportation of the raw materials and goods to Dehradun, which happens to a considerable extent by train. As a result, train traffic along this route is bound to increase dramatically within the next several years. Unless these prevent measures are taken to prevent such accidents, the elephants will continue to be vulnerable to speeding trains. Consequently, other options such as the construction of overpasses or underpasses to allow elephants to move across both the railway track and the highway, or the realignment of the track outside the park are being investigated in more detail by members of the task force.