Assam: Rajdhani Express ploughs into elephant herd, killing eight

A devastating pre-dawn tragedy unfolded in Assam on Saturday when the Sairang–New Delhi Rajdhani Express rammed into a herd of elephants in Hojai district, killing eight animals and leaving one critically injured, officials said.

The collision, which occurred around 2.17 am in the Changjurai area, was so severe that the engine and five coaches of the New Delhi-bound train derailed. Miraculously, no passengers were injured, according to a spokesperson of the Northeast Frontier Railway.

Nagaon divisional forest officer Suhash Kadam said forest personnel rushed to the site soon after the incident, where the sight of lifeless elephants strewn along the tracks underscored the scale of the tragedy. The injured elephant was being monitored by forest officials, he added.

The impact of the accident rippled through rail operations in the region. Train services on the Jamunamukh–Kampur section were disrupted, with several services diverted via the UP line as restoration work began on a war footing.

The Sairang–New Delhi Rajdhani Express links Mizoram’s Sairang, near Aizawl, with Delhi’s Anand Vihar Terminal, passing through forested corridors long known for elephant movement.

The incident has once again highlighted the fragile coexistence between high-speed rail networks and wildlife habitats in the Northeast, where such encounters often end in irreversible loss.

With PTI inputs