Railway ‘war room’ to ensure safety during Kolkata Durga Puja rush with video surveillance

The “war room”, which was set up on Friday, provides a unified live video feed from over 2,200 CCTV cameras deployed across the division. These feeds are consolidated through the video surveillance system. Then there is centralised monitoring, where cameras from 12 distinct clusters are integrated, offering comprehensive coverage across critical railway sections.

There will be real-time crowd management, allowing railway staff to immediately identify and manage areas of heavy congestion, thereby preventing potential stampedes or overcrowding on platforms and in concourses, officials said.

The “war room” will also help in informed decision making by providing an instantaneous, holistic view of the operational landscape. It significantly enhances the ability of the divisional command structure to make quick, informed decisions when responding to unusual occurrences or security threats.

Eye on Sealdah and Dum Dum stations

With the new metro lines inaugurated just before the Durga Puja and the Railways anticipating unprecedented passenger flows, the Sealdah division has implemented a range of changes at key stations, especially at Sealdah and Dum Dum, which are expected to witness significantly increased footfall.

The inauguration of Prafulla Dwar at the Sealdah station’s platform No. 1 will ease the congestion for suburban travellers and pandal-hoppers. It is equipped with nine new booking counters—including some exclusively for women and disabled people—and three automated ticket vending machines. The facility also offers QR code ticketing, better illumination, ramps, train indication boards, and a public address system for smoother travel.

At the Dum Dum station, a new booking office at the second entry point will serve passengers better. There will also be three additional counters and two new ATVMs to reduce queues during the festive rush.

All galloping trains will halt at every station in the Sealdah division during Puja. Frequent night service trains will run between Sealdah–Kalyani and Ballygunge–Sonarpur to disperse late-night Puja crowds. Extra EMU rakes will be kept ready at strategic locations to tackle any crisis.

Security will be intensified, with special Railway Protection Force (RPF) deployment at busy level crossings such as Barasat, Khardah, Ballygunge, Barrackpore, Bangaon, Sonarpur, Baruipur, Ranaghat, and Berhampore. Volunteers and local administration will assist in monitoring these vulnerable points.

Additional “May I Help You” booths will be set up at the Sealdah, Dumdum Junction, and Kolkata stations, providing helpline numbers, emergency contacts, and guidance. Drinking water will be supplied round the clock, while train indication and passenger announcement systems will be specially monitored, the officials added.

The first picture is of the war room, the others are of the new ticket counters, as provided by the Railways’ Sealdah division.

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