📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Prime Minister's Office
Technology
Gujarat Deploys AI System to Prevent Lion‑Railway Collisions
✍️ The Indian Express
🗓 20 Aug 2026, 12:35 AM
👁 9
The Gujarat government has launched an artificial‑intelligence based monitoring network to detect lions near railway tracks and alert train operators, aiming to curb fatal collisions.
Gujarat's forest and railway authorities have jointly introduced an AI‑driven surveillance system designed to spot lions that wander onto railway lines. The technology uses high‑resolution cameras and motion sensors installed at known wildlife crossing points, feeding live footage to a machine‑learning model that can identify the distinctive shape and movement of a lion.
When a lion is detected, the system instantly transmits an alert to the nearest railway control centre, prompting an automatic slowdown or temporary halt of trains passing through the zone. This real‑time warning aims to give both the animal and train operators enough time to avoid a collision.
The initiative is a collaborative effort between the Gujarat Forest Department, Indian Railways and a local tech start‑up specializing in computer‑vision solutions. Pilot installations have been set up along the Ahmedabad‑Vadodara corridor, a stretch known for frequent wildlife sightings.
Officials say early trials have already reduced near‑miss incidents by more than half, and the programme will be expanded to other vulnerable sections of the state's rail network over the coming months.
When a lion is detected, the system instantly transmits an alert to the nearest railway control centre, prompting an automatic slowdown or temporary halt of trains passing through the zone. This real‑time warning aims to give both the animal and train operators enough time to avoid a collision.
The initiative is a collaborative effort between the Gujarat Forest Department, Indian Railways and a local tech start‑up specializing in computer‑vision solutions. Pilot installations have been set up along the Ahmedabad‑Vadodara corridor, a stretch known for frequent wildlife sightings.
Officials say early trials have already reduced near‑miss incidents by more than half, and the programme will be expanded to other vulnerable sections of the state's rail network over the coming months.