Sensors that listen for elephants: Sri Lanka's trains are learning to slow down in time

People's Bank is fully funding a three-year Elephant-Train Collision Prevention Project with Sri Lanka Railways and the wildlife and forest conservation departments. The early-warning system, designed by elephant conservationist and engineer Irosh Perera, combines ground-vibration, acoustic, radar, thermal and beam sensors — solar-powered and linked wirelessly — to alert drivers through trackside lights, in-cab warnings and the control system. Some 39 hotspot locations spanning about 89 kilometres of track were identified; phase one funds 13 systems, and a pilot will run on a 14-kilometre stretch between Habarana and Hataraskotuwa.