5 Rajdhani Express Coaches Derail, 7 Elephants Killed After Collision In Assam

The accident site is not a designated elephant corridor and is located about 126 km from Guwahati.

At least seven elephants were killed and one calf injured after a herd collided with the Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express in Assam’s Hojai on Saturday morning, leading to the disruption of rail services.

The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express hit a herd of elephants, resulting in the derailment of the locomotive and five coaches. No passenger casualties or injuries were reported, officials said.

The New Delhi-bound train met with the accident around 2.17 am, PTI reported. The Sairang – New Delhi Rajdhani Express connects Mizoram’s Sairang (near Aizawl) to Anand Vihar Terminal (Delhi).

Railway has issued helpline numbers at the Guwahati Railway Station:-

0361-2731621
0361-2731622
0361-2731623
The accident site is located about 126 km from Guwahati. After the incident, accident relief trains and railway officials rushed to the spot to initiate rescue operations.

Train Services Disrupted

Sources said that due to the derailment and elephant body parts scattered on the tracks, the train services to Upper Assam and other parts of the Northeast were affected.

Passengers from the affected coaches were temporarily accommodated in vacant berths available in other coaches of the train. Once the train reaches Guwahati, additional coaches will be attached to accommodate all the passengers, after which the train will resume its onward voyage.

The incident occurred at a location that is not a designated elephant corridor. The loco pilot, after spotting the herd on the tracks, applied emergency brakes. Despite this, the elephants dashed into the train, leading to the collision and derailment.

Last month, an elephant was killed after being hit by a train in Dhupguri in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal. The incident took place on November 30.

The adult elephant was killed on the spot, and a calf was found lying injured beside the tracks.

Over 70 Elephants Killed In Train Collisions Over Last 5 Years

At least 79 elephants have died in train collisions across the country in the last five years, the Environment Ministry informed the Parliament in August.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh had said that the figure is based on reports from state governments and union territory administrations for the period 2020-21 to 2024-25.

He said that the ministry does not maintain consolidated data on the deaths of other wild animals on railway tracks, including in the designated elephant corridors.

Singh confirmed that three elephants, including a mother and her calf, were killed on July 18 of this year after being hit by a speeding express train on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section in West Bengal’s Paschim Midnapore district. The incident took place near Banstala between Jhargram and Banstala stations.

The minister said several measures have been taken jointly by the Ministry of Environment and the Railways to prevent such accidents.

These include imposing speed restrictions in elephant habitats, pilot projects such as seismic sensor-based detection of elephants near tracks and construction of underpasses, ramps and fencing at vulnerable points.

The Wildlife Institute of India, in consultation with the ministry and other stakeholders, has also issued guidelines entitled ‘Eco-friendly Measures to Mitigate Impacts of Linear Infrastructure’ to help agencies design railways and other projects in ways that reduce human-animal conflicts.

Singh added that capacity-building workshops had been conducted for railway officials at the Wildlife Institute of India in 2023 and 2024 to raise awareness on elephant conservation and protection.

A detailed report titled ‘Suggested Measures to Mitigate Elephant & Other Wildlife Train Collisions on Vulnerable Railway Stretches in India’ was also prepared after surveys across 127 railway stretches covering 3,452 km.

Of these, 77 strategies spanning 1,965 countries in 14 states were prioritized for meeting, with site-specific interventions suggested.

At least seven elephants were killed, and one was injured after a herd of jumbos were hit by the Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express in Assam’s Hojai district early Saturday, officials said.

Five coaches and the train’s engine were derailed, they said.

Initially, all eight elephants were reported to have been killed, although it was later said that one of them was found injured.

No passengers were injured in the accident, which happened at 2.17 a.m., the officials said.

Nagaon divisional forest officer Suhash Kadam told PTI that the accident in Changjurai village is suspected to have happened due to heavy fog in the area.

“An autopsy of the seven dead jumbos is underway, and treatment is on for the injured one by local veterinary doctors. Cremation will be done near the accident site. Legal formalities are being followed,” he said.

NFR chief spokesperson Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said the accident took place in Jamunamukh-Kampur section under Lumding division.

The area is about 126 km from Guwahati.

He claimed that the accident took place at a location that is not a designated elephant corridor. “The train driver, on observing the herd of elephants, applied emergency brakes. However, the jumbos dashed with the train,” he added.

Mr. Sharma said that accident relief trains, along with top officials from the divisional headquarters, have already reached the site.

The NFR general manager and the divisional railway manager of Lumding also rushed to the site, he said.

Helpline numbers — 0361-2731621 / 2731622 / 2731623 — have been activated at Guwahati railway station, he added.

The NFR spokesperson said that the passengers of the affected coaches were temporarily accommodated in the vacant berths available in other compartments, and the train, without the derailed coaches, left the site for Guwahati at 6.11 am.

The passengers will be accommodated in additional coaches, which will be added to the train at Guwahati, and the train will resume its journey thereafter, he said.

Trains scheduled to pass through the affected section have been diverted through the UP line, and restoration work is under way, Mr. Sharma added.

The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express connects Mizoram’s Sairang (near Aizawl) to Anand Vihar Terminal in Delhi.

NEW DELHI:

Eight elephants were killed and one injured after a herd was hit by the Sairang New Delhi Rajdhani Express in Assam’s Hojai district in the early hours of Saturday, said a forest official.

Five coaches and the engine of the New Delhi-bound train were derailed in the incident, although no injuries to passengers were reported, a Northeast Frontier Railway spokesperson said. The spokesperson said the accident occurred at around 2.17 am.

Nagaon divisional forest officer Suhash Kadam told PTI that the collision took place in the Changjurai area of Hojai district. Kadam and other forest officials reached the site soon after the incident.

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