Crowd Control: Rly Stations Back On Track

New Delhi: After a stampede claimed 18 lives at New Delhi Railway Station, the authorities revisited their approach to managing crowds and enhanced precautions are now in place to ensure a safer experience for crowds expected for Holi travel.
On Monday, TOI visited the New Delhi and Anand Vihar railway stations. At the former, it saw passengers gathering at the Ajmeri Gate side and railway staff and Railway Protection Force personnel using loud hailers to make announcements.
There was a queue of reserved passengers entering platform 16, where Holi-bound trains arrive. The unreserved passengers entered through Gate No. 12. The Bihar Sampark Kranti rolled into platform 16 but a serpentine queue divider was in place to facilitate the orderly movement of passengers to the train and prevent any unruly dash when the train arrived. At every coach door, a railway staff and RPF personnel stood, checking the tickets and guiding passengers to their seats.
Amod Yadav, 55, a shop owner, was heading home to Bettiah in Bihar to celebrate Holi. "This sort of arrangement should be in place all the time, not just for Holi or special occasions. It prevents accidents," he said. Swati Jha too said, "Compared with other times, the arrangements this time were nice and my father easily got a seat." Jha had come to drop off her visiting father, who was boarding a train to Samastipur. She was allowed to enter the platform because her father, Kanhaiya Jha, is specially abled.
A mini control room has been established at the station with 12 phone lines to address queries and deal with other issues. Over 15 personnel are to monitor CCTV footage. On the platform bridges, RPF personnel and scouts from Northern Railway have been posted and they do not permit stopping or crowding there. The staircases of platform 16 have been barricaded for crowd control. Compared with other days, the crowd at the platform was sparser. "The platform ticket sale has stopped and we only allow in travellers holding tickets. Earlier five-six people came to see off one passenger. That is why there are no big crowds," explained an RPF personnel.
A holding area has also been carved out for over 4,000 passengers, with 20 counters for unreserved tickets and Automatic Ticket Vending Machines available there. Mohammad Taiyab Ansari, 65, was waiting in the holding area for his train to Ranchi, which was scheduled to depart a few hours later. "I came to Delhi in 2022. The station is always crowded with people waiting on the platform. So, having a hold area is a great initiative and helps manage the crowd," he said.
At the inquiry counter at the holding area, a railway staffer said they handled over 1,300 queries a day related to different issues. The individual working at the unreserved counter said in a day, more than 400 tickets were sold to passengers.
Similar measures have been implemented at Anand Vihar station, where a small holding area has been set up for passengers waiting for their trains. Niranjan Saini, 22, was charging his phone in the holding area where a charging facility had been provided. "Due to traffic jams, I missed my train. Another train is scheduled around 11pm, so I will wait here," he said.
Whenever Bihar-bound trains arrive, railway staff are deployed at each door of the coach to verify tickets and regulate entry. Rambabu, 42, was on the Sapt Kranti SF Express, bound for Muzaffarpur in Bihar. "I arrived around 11am expecting a rush at the station and fearing I wouldn't get a seat. But the situation was better than expected. In the general coaches, there was no rush, and RPF personnel got the travellers to form a queue at the designated doors rather than enter through windows or other points," said Rambabu.
Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, CPRO, Northern Railway, stated that over 400 Holi special trains are running from various city stations. "We will also run demand-based trains to cater to the rush," he added.
Listing the measures taken, Upadhyay said, "We have established mini control rooms at six stations within our jurisdiction, namely New Delhi, Delhi, Nizamuddin, Anand Vihar, Ghaziabad and Panipat. Special duty officers have been posted in addition to existing personnel to monitor train operations, for crowd control and to coordinate with the mini control rooms. Special holding areas have been created at New Delhi and Anand Vihar to manage crowds at peak periods. Medical booths have been set up at Anand Vihar, Nizamuddin, New Delhi and Old Delhi railway stations. Adequate deployment of RPF has been made on all platform bridges to ensure the smooth movement of passengers."