The Indian Railways is getting ready to deploy the “Gajraj system” an Artificial Intelligence-based answer, alongside a 700-kilometre stretch of railway tracks in forest areas to mitigate elephant deaths. This surveillance system goals to alert loco pilots concerning the presence of elephants on the tracks.
When talking to the media concerning the initiative on Wednesday, Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was quoted by the news company PTI as saying, “We have identified forested regions in Assam, West Bengal, Odisha, Kerala, Jharkhand, and parts of Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu that serve as habitats for elephants. The implementation of this AI-driven surveillance system in these areas will effectively notify train drivers in advance about elephants on the tracks.”
Government statistics point out that a median of 20 elephant deaths happen yearly on account of practice collisions within the nation, with the vast majority of incidents taking place inside the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) zone.
According to news company PTI, the system’s idea was originated from the previous General Manager of NFR, Anshul Gupta, who discovered about this know-how 13 years in the past throughout a go to to London.
“I experimented it twice, once in 2011 and then in 2016 in different railway divisions but its successful implementation took place only in December 2022 when we launched this project in the 11 corridors,” talked about Gupta, who retired in March 2023.
All concerning the undertaking
The undertaking’s complete implementation value alongside the 700-kilometre tracks quantities to ₹181 crore. Vaishnaw talked about that this railway-developed know-how, in collaboration with startups, was initially deployed throughout a 150-kilometre stretch in Assam final 12 months, proving to be notably efficient.
“We made some improvements in the system based on our field experience and now it detects the presence of elephants on tracks with 99.5 per cent accuracy,” mentioned Vaishnaw, highlighting the know-how’s function in saving quite a few elephants.
In September 2023, the Northeast Frontier Railway acclaimed the system’s success, attributing its deployment throughout 11 elephant corridors within the Northeast to the eradication of elephant fatalities from practice collisions.
The Intrusion Detection System (IDS) – that includes sensors that determine the motion of untamed animals and alert management workplaces, station masters, gatemen, and loco pilots – was launched by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) in December 2022 throughout 11 elephant corridors – 5 within the Alipurduar division and 6 within the Lumding division.
According to the NFR, from its launch in December 2022 till July this 12 months, the system issued 9,768 alerts, averaging 41 alerts day by day. Additionally, because the system’s deployment, these 11 corridors haven’t reported any train-elephant collisions.
How will it work
Whenever an elephant steps onto the observe, the system points alerts to varied concerned events, together with the practice controller, station grasp, practice drivers, and different stakeholders, prompting precautionary actions to stop potential risks.
The optical fiber cable (OFC) deployed by the railways for telecommunication and signalling beneath the tracks proves advantageous for the IDS set up.
Embedded inside the OFC community, the system captures vibrations attributable to elephants on the tracks, transmitting real-time alerts to the division management room and a cellular utility. It is able to detecting and pinpointing transferring elephants inside a 5-metre radius from the fiber optic cable, the system operates successfully.
(With PTI inputs)
Source web site: www.hindustantimes.com
