he Ministry of Railways on Friday decided to create permanent outside waiting areas at 60 major stations across the country. The decision comes close to a month after 18 people were killed in a stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station due to alleged overcrowding at platforms in the wake of Mahakumbh rush.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw held a meeting with senior officials and discussed crowd control measures to be implemented across major stations in the country that periodically face heavy footfall. “During the 2024 festival season, waiting areas created outside the Surat, Udhna, Patna and New Delhi railway stations were able to hold large crowds. Passengers were allowed on the platform only when the train arrived,” statement from Ministry said.
Similar arrangements made at nine stations in Prayagraj during Maha Kumbh proved to be effective too. The permanent outside waiting areas will be modelled based on these experiences. According to the statement, pilot projects have started at New Delhi, Anand Vihar, Varanasi, Ayodhya, and Patna stations. “With this concept, the sudden crowd will be contained within the waiting area. Passengers will be allowed to go to the platforms only when the trains arrive. This will decongest the stations,” it said.
The ministry will enforce access control at these 60 stations. Passengers with confirmed tickets will be given direct access to the platforms. “Those without a ticket or with a waiting list ticket will wait at the outside waiting area and all unauthorised entry points will be sealed,” it said.
Another major decision was to construct wider Foot Over Bridges (FOB). Two new designs - for 12-metre wide (40 feet) and 6-metre wide (20 feet) standard FOBs - have been developed. Officials said these wide FOBs with ramps were effective in crowd management during the Kumbh.
“Cameras also helped crowd management in a big way during Maha Kumbh. A large number of cameras will be installed at all these railway stations and adjoining areas for close monitoring,” the statement said.
“War rooms will be developed at large stations. Officers of all departments will work in the war room during crowd situations,” it said.
An official said new generation communication equipment will also be utilised. “Latest design digital communication equipment like walkie-talkies, announcement systems, and calling systems will be made available at all the stations with heavy crowd,” he said.
Other measures implemented include, a new ID card and uniforms for staff and service persons.
It was also directed to appoint of a senior officer as station director at major stations.
The ministry said the station director will be financially empowered to take on-the-spot decisions to improve the station. “The station director will be empowered to control the sale of tickets as per capacity of the station and the available trains,” the statement said.
