Gir Forest Rail Section to Get 5 New Lion Underpasses and AI Monitoring

Bilkul Online

9 months ago

A 115-km AI-based intrusion detection system and additional wildlife crossings aim to improve safety of Asiatic lions along railway tracks

Bilkul Online
Ahmedabad | 07 Feb 2026

For the safety of wildlife in Gir forest, apart from the existing two underpasses for lion movement, construction work for 5 more lion underpasses has been taken up. In addition, work for implementation of an Artificial Intelligence based Intrusion Detection System (IDS) for monitoring lion movement has been sanctioned covering 115 km in the Damnagar-Pipavav section of the Bhavnagar Division of Western Railway, located within the Gir National Park and Lion Wildlife Sanctuary. The system is designed to generate alerts for Loco Pilots, Station Masters and Control Room about the movement of lions in proximity of railway tracks for taking timely preventive action. The information was provided by the Minister of Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnav on February 06, 2026, while replying to a question raised by RS MP Parimal Nathwani.

According to the statement of the minister, the existing railway network passing through Gir forest area is Metre Gauge (MG) section. For the safety of wildlife, the trains are operated at slow speed in identified lion passing corridor.

For the Co-ordination between Railway & Forest department, review committees i.e. Circle Level Committee, Divisional Level Committee and Range Level Committee have been established. The meetings of said committees are conducted quarterly, bi-monthly and monthly respectively. The issues discussed in the meetings are resolved proactively by Railways.

Nathwani wanted to know whether plans exist for constructing an elevated rail corridor through Gir forest to protect Asiatic lions; if so, the current status of the project, including feasibility studies, funding and expected completion timeline. And other related queries for the safety of Gir lions near rail corridor.