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Context

• In a bid to prevent train-elephant collisions, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the development of 'Gajraj'.

About

• 'Gajraj', is an indigenous software utilising optical fibre cable (OFC) to alert the locomotive pilot of any suspicious activity on or near rail tracks.

Funtionality

• "Using AI and OFC, the software triggers alerts upon detecting any questionable movement within 200 metres of the tracks.
• Vibrations caused by elephant movement alongside the rails create variations in the optical signals carried by the OFC, signalling a potential threat.
• The software identifies these signal disruptions as signs of movement, specifically detecting the presence and distinguishing between elephants, other animals, and humans."
• The software has the capability to discern the type of movement and the number of animals present at a given site.
• Alerts generated by the system reach the locomotive pilot, control room personnel, and the section station master upon detecting any movement.

Urgency of the Initiative

• Railway Ministry data revealed 45 elephant fatalities due to train accidents in the past three years.
• Over the past decade, about 200 elephants lost their lives due to collisions with trains, posing a significant threat to both wildlife and railway operations.
• Recently, a tragic collision involving a goods train claimed the lives of three elephants, including a mother and her two calves, in Alipurduar district, West Bengal.

Implementation

• The AI-based 'Gajraj' software, successfully tested in Assam, is set to be deployed across 700 km of elephant corridors in multiple states within the next eight months, at an estimated cost of Rs 181 crore.

Significance

• Gajraj Suraksha, which is a kind of Intrusion Detection System or IDS, is based on an AI algorithm and claims to detect 99.5 per cent of potential collisions, providing a much-needed solution to this longstanding issue.
• One of the key advantages of this technology is its cost-effectiveness. On a vast network spanning 700 kilometres of railway tracks, the implementation cost is estimated at Rs 181 crores, making it a viable and scalable solution for Indian Railways.
• The Indian Railways plans to deploy this solution across all elephant corridors in the country in the next 8 months.
• The introduction of this indigenous technology marks a significant step forward in the efforts to protect wildlife and enhance the safety of railway operations.
• As India continues to grapple with the delicate balance between modern infrastructure and environmental conservation, innovations like the Gajraj Suraksha, showcase the potential for technology to mitigate the impact on the country’s rich biodiversity.

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