Wild elephant, calf killed after being hit by train near Walayar

Palakkad: A wild elephant and its calf were killed after being hit by a train near Walayar early Thursday.

The accident happened around 12:30 a.m. when the Mangaluru-Chennai Superfast Express struck the elephants at Chavadipara.

Train services were disrupted for several hours following the accident. The incident occurred on the Tamil Nadu side of the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border.

The two elephants remained trapped under the train's engine, and efforts to remove them continued for hours.

Later, the Walayar police and Forest Department officials reached the spot and were working to clear the area and restore the movement of trains.

In February this year, a juvenile elephant was killed after being hit by the Yesvantpur-Kannur Express (16527) at Vattappara near Walayar. The accident happened around 4:30 am, and the train dragged the elephant for about 50 metres, killing it instantly.

The accident happened on the A-line at a sharp right-hand curve, where visibility for the loco pilot was less than 100 metres. The A-line is used by trains travelling toward Palakkad from the Coimbatore side.

In the Walayar section, passenger trains are permitted to operate at a maximum speed of 65 kmph during the day and 45 kmph at night. Goods trains face additional night-time speed restrictions, with a maximum of 25 kmph on the A-line and 35 kmph on the B-line.

Elephant-train collisions are a recurring problem in India, particularly along railway routes that pass through traditional elephant corridors, with repeated deaths reported despite speed restrictions and other mitigation measures.