Sri Lanka adjusts train timings to tackle elephant deaths

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka´s wildlife and railway authorities announced on Friday a series of low-tech measures, including adjusting timetables to reduce night-time train collisions, following the worst wildlife accident that killed seven elephants.

The measures came after seven elephants were run over on February 20 by an express train near a wildlife reserve in Habarana, some 180-kms east of the capital Colombo, making it the worst accident of its kind.

Authorities said they had identified vulnerable stretches of railway tracks in elephant-inhabited forest areas in the island´s northern and eastern regions, and mitigation measures were already underway.

“We have started clearing shrubs on either side of the tracks to allow drivers to see more clearly if herds are near,” railway spokesman V. S. Polwattage told reporters in Colombo. He said fewer trains were being operated at night in areas prone to accidents involving wildlife. Authorities were also deploying power-set trains, which have better braking power, to minimise collisions.

No passengers were injured in the February 20 incident, but services were disrupted for almost a day. Wildlife Conservation Director Manjula Amararathna said authorities had also begun filling gaps between sleepers -- the logs that sit in parallel under the rail -- to prevent elephants from getting stuck if they attempted to escape approaching trains.