Ashwini Vaishnaw: 60 railway stations to get holding areas to regulate passenger rush

The minister also said that the Railways will run a special campaign for all stations in Delhi, where suggestions will be invited from all stakeholders regarding problems at the stations and possible solutions.

“Everybody — from the hawkers, street vendors, auto and taxi unions, coolies, passengers, freight to police — will be able to send their feedback on the problems regarding the railway stations in Delhi. All suggestions will be duly considered and changes will be made on fast track mode,” Vaishnaw told reporters at the Rail Bhawan.

“After this incident (stampede), we have learnt that we need to increase the holding area at some stations where passenger rush is very high during key events such as festivals. A decision has been taken to develop a holding area at 60 such stations. A plan is being formulated after working out the cost of the project and there will be timely completion of the project,” Vaishnaw said.

A separate enclosure for general class passengers headed to Prayagraj at New Delhi Railway Station on Monday. (express photo by Amit Mehra)

Officials said 35 stations, including Surat, Udhna, Arah, Kanpur, Jhansi, Chhapra, Gorakhpur, Asansol, Howrah and Malda, have already been identified so far for developing the holding area.

As an immediate measure for the New Delhi Railway Station, a special holding area was set up on Monday for general class passengers of trains headed to Prayagraj, where the Maha Kumbh is being held.

Vaishnaw said there is also a need to run an awareness programme for the passengers, as well as Railways staff, regarding rules of the railway station so that a stampede-like situation does not arise again.

“We also need to have a comprehensive relook at our Railways manual. The manual regarding crowd management at the railway station will be changed soon,” he said.

When asked about action on officials responsible for the stampede that took place Saturday night, the minister said, “Let the inquiry report come. Action will be taken accordingly. The committee has been given time to complete the investigation.”

The two-member high-level probe committee has started its investigation on the basis of close analysis of CCTV footage. The committee has also asked all relevant departments, including the Railway Protection Force (RPF), to submit their responses. It is also recording eyewitness statements and checking if adequate arrangements were made at the station to manage the crowd.

While many eyewitnesses claimed that the stampede took place because of lack of crowd management at a time when a large number of people were trying to board Prayagraj-bound trains, the Railways claimed that the rush was not unusual for the New Delhi Railway Station.

Officials said the incident occurred because a group of people were sitting on the stairs of the foot overbridge between platforms 14 and 15, and when passengers of platform 14 rushed to take the stairs to go to platform 12 for a special train to Prayagraj, an elderly woman, holding a bag over her head, fell. This led to the stampede.

On Monday, Northern Railway announced that there would be no sale of platform tickets from 4 pm to 11 pm at the New Delhi Railway Station for one week. “From the crowd management point of view, it has been decided to stop the sale of platform tickets at New Delhi Railway Station from 4 pm to 11 pm for the next one week,” said the official spokesperson of Northern Railway.