Railway to implement 'Plan Bee' to keep away elephants from tracks

Union Minister for Railways  Ashwini Vaishnaw informed that Railway is mulling to implement 'Plan Bee' throughout the country to keep away elephants from railway tracks. Addressing the media after inspecting passenger amenities at Guwahati Railway Station on Tuesday, Vaishnaw said that 'Plan Bee' adopted by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) is a unique method to keep elephants away from railway tracks and as it is a success story, plans are afoot to implement it all over the country to save the precious lives of elephants. The Union Minister also informed that work for double railway line upto Guwahati station will start very soon
Plan Bee is an amplifying system imitating the buzz of a swarm of honey bees to keep elephants from getting killed on the railway tracks. Through this device, the buzzing sound of bees is audible from a distance of over 400 metres. So far, the device has been installed at 56 locations under the NFR jurisdiction, where the train lines cut through forests or elephant habitats. The first such device was installed at the level crossing gate NN-274 between Azara and Kamakhya station under the Rangiya division.  The crossing is a few metres from one of 27 elephant corridors under NFR, which covers northern West Bengal and parts of eastern Bihar besides the northeastern states.

According to a release issued by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), tourist circuit trains will be introduced in the northeast, covering all prominent locations of the region, A study to increase rail connectivity in the northeastern states was underway. Promoting the rich heritage of northeast and showcasing its beautiful culture to the entire world has been an endeavour of the Railways,it noted.  studies are being conducted to establish strategic railway lines to highlight the beauty of northeast, and start more passenger, intercity and Jan Shatabdi Express-like trains, it added. A sum of Rs 7,000 crore has been allocated this year for the ongoing railway projects in northeast.