Train drivers refuse night time runs without elephant detection tools View(s):The Locomotive Operating Engineers Union said it will not operate trains, including the night mail, in areas where elephants roam in the northern and eastern tracks, particularly the Trincomalee and Batticaloa routes. In 2025, there were 21 elephant deaths from train accidents out of a total of 438 deaths. It is imperative that some early detection devices be fitted on the trains. Railway employees explained that once officers of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) travelled in train engines to alert train drivers to elephants near tracks. Railway authorities said that the night train operations in the northern, Trincomalee and Batticaloa lines were halted after the Dithwa cyclone.

Source: Sunday Times January 11, 2026 08:55 UTC