13 trains on South Eastern Railway line stopped to give way to a moving herd of elephants

Several named express services were detained during the suspension, including 12905 Shalimar–Shalimar SF Express, 12151 Samanta Express, 18190 Ernakulam–Tatanagar Express, 12809 Mumbai CSMT–Howrah Mail, and 12810 Howrah–Mumbai CSMT Mail, officials said.

A number of Up and special trains were also held until the track was declared safe.

The precaution follows a fatal accident in July this year on the Kharagpur–Tatanagar line near the Jhargram forest, when a train struck a herd of seven elephants, killing three. That incident drew criticism because it came despite claims that rail and forest authorities had enhanced real-time monitoring and coordination to prevent such collisions.

A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report has noted the recurring nature of the problem: between 2014 and 2020, 13 elephants were killed on tracks under South Eastern Railway. Wildlife and rail officials have been under pressure to improve early-warning systems, fencing and coordinated patrolling along key elephant corridors.

SER said the suspension on November 1 was intended to prevent any untoward incident and to demonstrate the railways’ commitment to wildlife safety as well as operational safety. The zone added that it will continue to work with forest authorities to refine monitoring and response systems at known wildlife crossing points.