In a stretch of the Walayar Forest Reserve on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, where more than 25 wild elephants have been run over by trains in the last two decades, another victim has been added to the list earlier today. The tusker was hit by the Mangalore Chennai West Coast Express on Friday morning purportedly when he was crossing the B-line of the Palakkad-Coimbatore railway line that cuts through the elephant corridor. The accident occurred between the Kanjikode and Walayar railway stations. While Kanjikode falls under Palakkad district of Kerala, Walayar falls under TN jurisdiction. This is the first elephant fatality to be reported this year. There are reports that the Kerala government has sanctioned Rs 8 crore to build fences along the tracks on the stretch using discarded rails. Similar rail fences have reportedly been a success in Karnataka. Though there are strict instructions from the Railway to maintain slow speeds while passing through the stretch, such rules are rarely followed especially during the night. The railway line is an arterial line that connects Chennai to Kerala. The restrictions on train speed have had little impact on elephant fatalities as well.
