New Delhi, Anand Vihar Stations Get Holding Areas, Temporary Halls Ahead Of Festive Rush

With the festive season approaching, the Indian Railways is taking extensive measures to manage the surge of passengers at major Delhi railway stations during Diwali and Chhath Puja. This comes in the wake of a stampede on 15 February this year at New Delhi railway station that claimed 18 lives.

A permanent holding area is being constructed on the Ajmeri Gate side of New Delhi station, with a capacity to accommodate over 7,000 passengers. The area is designed to be connected directly to the platform, reducing the need for passengers to use stairs or foot-over bridges. 

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It will be divided into pre-ticketing (2,700 seats), ticketing (3,100 seats), and post-ticketing (1,350 seats) sections. The facility will include 22 ticket counters, two toilet blocks, a public address system, electronic display boards, AI-based surveillance cameras, and luggage scanners.

In addition, a temporary waiting hall will be ready at Anand Vihar Terminal, and the construction of two new platforms at both Anand Vihar Terminal and Shakur Basti will ease the operation of special trains.

To further reduce crowding, special trains will operate from Old Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Shakur Basti, Safdarjung, and other stations in Delhi, as well as major cities in Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh. Trains will also stop at Ghaziabad to help distribute passenger traffic. Departure timings will be staggered throughout the day to avoid simultaneous arrivals and departures that could lead to overcrowding.

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For security and crowd management, additional Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel and railway staff will be deployed at New Delhi, Anand Vihar, and other key stations. Measures include allowing only ticketed passengers onto platforms and restricting platform ticket sales if crowding increases. Cleaning staff and senior officials will also be on site to ensure smooth operations and passenger safety.

These steps aim to ensure that passengers can travel safely and comfortably during the festive season.