In a tragic incident in Assam, seven wild elephants were killed after being hit by a high-speed Rajdhani Express late Saturday night in the Kampur area of Nagaon district. A calf was also seriously injured in the accident, officials said. According to available information, a herd of wild elephants was moving towards human habitation late at night in search of food. At the same time, Train No. 20507 Down Sairang–New Delhi Rajdhani Express was passing through the Jamunamukh–Kampur section under the Lumding Division of Northeast Frontier Railway. Although the location is not a notified elephant corridor, railway authorities said loco pilots remain alert while passing through the area at night.
At around 2:17 am, the loco pilot spotted the herd on the track and applied emergency brakes. While a major mishap involving passengers was averted, the train struck the elephants, leading to the derailment of the locomotive and five coaches. Railway officials confirmed that no passengers were injured in the incident, but seven elephants died on the spot. The injured elephant calf has been taken under the care of the Forest Department and is being provided medical treatment.
The accident site is located about 126 km from Guwahati. Following the incident, accident relief teams and an Accident Relief Train from the Lumding divisional headquarters rushed to the spot. Senior railway officials, including the General Manager of Northeast Frontier Railway and the Divisional Railway Manager of Lumding, also visited the site to oversee restoration work. Railway sources said passengers from the affected coaches were temporarily accommodated in vacant berths in other coaches. After detaching the damaged coaches, the train left the site for Guwahati at around 6:11 am. Additional coaches will be attached at Guwahati before the train resumes its onward journey.
Due to the derailment, train services on the affected section have been diverted through the Up line. Restoration work is underway on a war footing to normalise services at the earliest. Kampur is known as an elephant movement zone, and similar incidents involving trains and wild elephants have been reported from the area in the past. The tragedy has once again raised concerns over railway safety measures in wildlife-prone regions. For the convenience of passengers, helpline numbers have been activated at Guwahati Railway Station: 0361-2731621 / 2731622 / 2731623.
