A coal-laden goods train on the Barkakana–Hazaribag line in Jharkhand’s Ramgarh district was brought to an unscheduled standstill for roughly two hours after a wild elephant went into labour on the track. The intervention, initiated around 3 a.m. when a forest guard reported the animal’s condition, allowed the elephant to deliver a calf safely before the pair returned to the forest unharmed. Divisional Forest Officer Nitish Kumar said rail controllers in Barkakana suspended traffic on the predominantly freight corridor immediately after receiving the alert, ensuring no passenger services were disrupted. Video footage released later showed the mother and newborn walking away from the rails, drawing widespread approval online. Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav hailed the incident as “a powerful example of compassion in action.” His ministry and Indian Railways have jointly identified more than 110 wildlife-sensitive stretches along 3,500 kilometres of track to reduce animal fatalities. The need for such measures is acute: Jharkhand has recorded 474 human deaths in man-elephant conflicts and 30 elephant deaths, including train collisions and electrocution, since 2019.