Colombo, March 3 (IANS) Sri Lanka Railways announced on Monday that it will implement new speed limits and revised night train schedules in areas prone to elephant crossings to prevent frequent train-elephant collisions.
The Department of Railways said the revised schedule will take effect on March 7, 2025, adding that trains will now operate outside peak elephant movement hours to minimise risks, with speed limits enforced in high-risk zones.
Officials acknowledged that the new restrictions may cause potential delays, but emphasised that reducing train speeds is necessary to protect Sri Lanka’s wildlife.
Train collisions with elephants occur frequently in certain areas of the country. On February 20, a train accident in Gal Oya killed seven wild elephants.
Last month, the Lankan government had announced plans to establish five elephant corridors in its north-central province to reduce human-elephant conflicts.
The island nation’s north-central province has experienced the highest number of human-elephant conflict incidents compared to other regions, according to the state media.
Out of the province’s 29 Divisional Secretariat Divisions, 27 have seen a sharp increase in human-elephant conflicts in recent years, according to the report.
To address the issue, authorities have decided to create five elephant corridors. Additional measures include preventing encroachment on protected areas, managing elephant habitats by cultivating grasslands, and rehabilitating water tanks in conservation zones, the state media reported.
Human-elephant conflict is a serious problem in Sri Lanka.
In 2024, 388 wild elephants and 155 people lost their lives due to these conflicts, according to official data.
The Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) in Sri Lanka is a critical and multifaceted issue posing significant challenges to the conservation of the endangered Asian elephant.
This conflict has deep historical roots and has escalated due to various factors, including poorly planned development projects, forest clearing, habitat loss, fragmentation of elephant habitats, population growth, urban expansion, changing land use, haphazard electric fencing, and mismanagement of forest and wildlife reserves, as well as weak wildlife management practices.
The conflict has resulted in economic losses for farmers, human injuries, and fatalities, making it imperative to find effective solutions.
Despite a lengthy history of wildlife conservation in Sri Lanka, existing measures have proven insufficient to mitigate the impacts of HEC.
The national policy on the conservation and management of wild elephants in Sri Lanka (2018) focuses on confining elephants to Elephant Conservation Areas (ECAs) and Managed Elephant Reserves (MERs), which has proven to be a failed strategy, Xinhua news agency reported.
In addition to the loss of more than 400 elephants annually, a tragic incident occurred in 2019, where seven elephants from the same herd were found dead at the Hiriwadunna reserve in Habarana, drawing immediate public attention.
Legal action was initiated to investigate the incident and advocate for justice.
–IANS
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