AI system
- System
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AI-based Intrusion Detection System (distributed acoustic sensing on optical fiber), Northeast Frontier Railway
- Model
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Not assessed
- Release
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Not assessed
- Provider
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Not assessed
- Role
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Not assessed
- Configuration
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Not assessed
- Inputs and outputs
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Not assessed
- Autonomy
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Not assessed
- Workflow
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Fiber-optic acoustic sensing with AI classification installed along an elephant corridor. Alert routed to loco pilots and station masters in time to brake.
- Human oversight
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Not assessed
- Relation to AI
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The operator's release says the drivers noticed the herd and applied the emergency brake and were “also alerted” by the IDS. One local report says the braking followed the IDS warning. The AI alert is documented, but its share of the causal credit is not separable from the crew's own sighting. Hence protective response, prevention unproven.
- AI contribution
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The operator's release says the drivers noticed the herd and applied the emergency brake and were “also alerted” by the IDS. One local report says the braking followed the IDS warning. The AI alert is documented, but its share of the causal credit is not separable from the crew's own sighting. Hence protective response, prevention unproven.
Benefits
- Outcome identifiers
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Not assessed
- Benefit
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saved 414 elephants in 2023 and 383 up to 16 October 2024
- Category
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Increased Product Safety
- Status
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Not assessed
- Beneficiary groups
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Organizations. Society.
- Beneficiaries
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Not assessed
- Reach
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Not assessed
- Distribution and access
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Not assessed
- Duration
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Not assessed
- Expected?
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Yes
- Costs and harms
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Not assessed
Measurement
- Studies
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Not assessed
- Study design
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Not assessed
- Measurement
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Not assessed
- Setting and sample
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Not assessed
- Measures
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saved 414 elephants in 2023 and 383 up to 16 October 2024
- Comparison
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train-elephant collisions before the system (national average of elephant deaths on tracks)
- Results
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Reference: on an average 20 elephants die due to train collisions in the country every year and a majority of these incidents take place in the Northeast Frontier Railway. Result: since the launch of the system, these 11 corridors have not reported any train-elephant collision.
- Additional value from AI
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Not assessed
- Limitations
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Not assessed
- Denominators
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Not assessed
- Materials for replication
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Not assessed
Money
- Kind of value
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Not assessed
- Amount
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Not assessed
- Currency and prices
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Not assessed
- Period and unit
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Not assessed
- Realization
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Not assessed
- Recipients and payers
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Not assessed
- Gross or net
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Not assessed
- Included costs
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Not assessed
- Comparison
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Not assessed
- Method
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Not assessed
- Return and payback
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Not assessed
People and places
- Participants
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Operator: Northeast Frontier Railway (Indian Railways).
- Jurisdictions
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Benefit: Lumding,
India. Operator: India. - Ownership and control
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Not assessed
- Dependencies
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Not assessed
- Cross-border connections
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Not assessed
- Geopolitical implications
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Not assessed
Follow-up
- Conditions for replication
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Train speed and sighting distance allow a stop after the alert. Crew act on the alert. The operator attributes this stop partly to the crew's own sighting.
- Replication attempts
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1 follow-up entries. Benefit recurred: 1.
- Later findings
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5 December 2025. By December 2025 the system covered 141 route kilometers of Northeast Frontier Railway and tenders had been awarded for 981 more route kilometers nationwide.
- Availability
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Not assessed
- Institutional decision
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Not assessed
- Grounds
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Not assessed
- Action and result
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Not assessed
- Success criterion
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Not assessed
Evidence
- Source numbers
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AIBD-0009-source-0001–0006
- Citations
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Numbered references below.
- Language
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Not assessed
- Source relationships
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Independent
- Original evidence
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Not assessed
- Access and versions
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Not assessed
- Supported findings
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Not assessed
- Evidence links
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Not assessed
- Evidence strength
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Not assessed
- Missing evidence
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Not assessed
Grades
- Assessed benefits
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Organizations. Society.
- Depth
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Organizations: 2. Society: 2.
- Reasons
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Organizations: NFR avoided a collision between a running express train and about 60 elephants, with the derailment and disruption risk that carries. Society: About 60 wild elephants, a protected species, crossed safely; NFR reports hundreds of such events a year on this network.
- Observed or intended
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Not assessed
- Rubric
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Not assessed
- Assessor and date
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Not assessed
- Alternative assessments
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Not assessed
- Fill
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Independently studied
Entry details
- Kind
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Not assessed
- Related entries
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AI intrusion detection protecting wildlife: Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife's AI cameras failed to detect poachers and four rhinos were killed, the protected-animal group the NFR acoustic alert saved when about 60 elephants crossed the track.
- Field
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Railway safety and wildlife protection. Rail transport.
- Purpose
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Built to detect elephants near the track and alert loco pilots, station masters and control rooms. This benefit is that purpose.
- Dates
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Date basis unassessed: 2024 (precision unassessed). Updated: 21 October 2026.
- Stage
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Not assessed
- Version
-
SHA-256: e2557968a4b3…
References
- Other identifiers
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AI Incident Database: 219.
- Category mappings
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Not assessed
- Brief
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Not assessed
- Revisions
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6 revisions. Latest: 21 October 2026.
Sources
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Report Independent author
DD News (2025). Indian Railways expands AI-based intrusion detection to prevent elephant collisions across key routes (reporting the Railway Minister's written Rajya Sabha reply).
loco pilots, station masters and control rooms when elephant movement is detected near the tracks
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News report Independent author
Morung Express News (2024). Alert train drivers 'avert collision' with herd of elephants in Assam (based on NFR release, Maligaon, 17 October 2024).
The drivers were also alerted by the Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based Intrusion Detection System (IDS) that has been in operation in that section.
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News report Independent author
The Sentinel (Assam) (2024). Assam: AI Technology Generated Alerts Prevent Train From Colliding With Elephants.
the loco pilot and assistant loco pilot applied brakes, preventing a possible collusion.
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News report Independent author
The Meghalayan Express (2024). AI technology alerts drivers to stop trains to rescue a herd of elephants in Assam.
Thanks to the quick response of the pilots, who applied the emergency brakes, a potential collision was averted, ensuring the safety of the elephants.
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News report Independent author
The Sentinel (Assam) (2026). AI Shield and 'Plan Bee' Save 255 Elephants Across Northeast Frontier Railway.
immediately transmits real-time alerts to station masters and loco pilots, prompting them to reduce train speeds to 25 kmph when wildlife wanders near the tracks.
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News report Independent author
PTI. AI-based surveillance mechanism helps eliminate elephant deaths due to train collisions in 11 Northeast corridors. The Tribune, 6 September 2023.