In Assam’s Nagaon district, a tragic incident occurred late Saturday night when a high-speed Rajdhani Express struck a herd of elephants, resulting in the death of seven elephants and the serious injury of a calf. The elephants were searching for food near human habitation when the train, traveling through the Jamunamukh–Kampur section, encountered them. Despite the loco pilot’s emergency braking at around 2:17 am, the train collided with the elephants, causing derailment of the locomotive and five coaches; fortunately, no passengers were injured.
The calf is receiving medical care from the Forest Department. The accident portion is approximately 126 km from Guwahati, prompting the dispatch of accident relief teams and an Accident Relief Train from the Lumding divisional headquarters, with senior railway officials visiting the site to oversee recovery efforts. Passengers from affected coaches were relocated to other coaches, and after detaching the damaged ones, the train resumed its journey to Guwahati by 6:11 am. Due to the derailment, services in that section have been diverted, with restoration work prioritized to return operations to normal.
Kampur has a history as an elephant movement zone, and incidents involving trains colliding with elephants have raised ongoing safety concerns regarding railway operations in wildlife areas. Helplines have been established at Guwahati Railway Station for passengers affected by the incident.
