New Delhi [India], March 19 : Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday that each railway station has unique operational challenges due to varying passenger movement patterns during the festivals.
He said that for the security arrangements and to streamline passenger flow, station-specific plans are made involving all the stakeholders, including Government Railway Police (GRP), Local Police, and Local Civil Administration, and action is taken accordingly to manage the influx of passengers.
The minister told Lok Sabha in a written reply that to handle the rush of passengers during Maha Kumbh 2025 at Prayagraj, new infrastructure was created--seven additional platforms were built, bringing the total to 48 platforms across nine stations in the Prayagraj area.
The approach roads to these stations were widened to ensure smooth movement of pilgrims.
In total, 17 new permanent Yatri Ashryas were constructed, increasing the holding capacity of these shelters from 21,000 to over 1,10,000. Additionally, 21 new Road Over Bridges (ROBs) and Road Under Bridges (RUBs) have been built, eliminating all level crossings in the region.
A well-coordinated train operation plan was deployed to ensure smooth transportation during the Kumbh. Each station was having its own control room, with a central master control room at Prayagraj Junction. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) were developed for train operations and crowd management at stations. To facilitate smooth rush of passenger's flow, extensive measures have been put in place, including single entry and exit points at stations on major Snan days and unidirectional movement on platforms, foot over bridges (FOBs), and ramps.
Security arrangements for Mahakumbh-2025 were comprehensive, with an emphasis on surveillance and real-time monitoring, the minister said.
A total of about 1200 CCTV cameras, including 116 Face Recognition System (FRS) cameras and Drone cameras were also deployed for surveillance of tracks and crowd management at approach roads to stations.
Additional deployment of 15,000 personnel from the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Government Railway Police (GRP) and para-military forces were done to ensure security.
Also, additional deployment was made at other sensitive railway stations where high rush of passengers was expected such as Varanasi, Ayodhya, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, Danapur and New Delhi.
Vaishnaw said New Delhi Railway Station has adequate infrastructure.
It has 16 platforms, three foot over bridges (FOBs), access from both Paharganj and Ajmeri gate side, large open spaces in front of the station. Large rush of passengers during festivals and events like Kumbh, Chatth, Holi is being handled regularly on New Delhi Railway Station.
Redevelopment of New Delhi Railway Station has been sanctioned under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.
The minister said that Amrit Bharat Station Scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach.
This scheme involves preparation of Master Plans and their implementation in phases to improve the amenities at the stations like improvement of station access, circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lift/escalators as necessary, cleanliness, free Wi-Fi, kiosks for local products through schemes like One Station One Product, better passenger information systems, executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping etc. keeping in view the necessity at each such station.
The scheme also envisages improvement of building integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans, sustainable and environment friendly solutions, provision of ballast less tracks etc. as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centres at the station in the long term.
The plan for redevelopment of New Delhi Railway station, envisages larger new station buildings at both sides, spacious Air Concourse with modern amenities for passenger, Multi Modal Transport Hub connecting different mode of transportation and providing parking and other facilities.
The redeveloped station envisages a network of surface and elevated roads to provide access at two levels and to decongest surrounding areas of New Delhi railway station. Adequate security measures like CCTV cameras, access control, movement regulation and waiting space are also envisaged.
He said that decisions have been taken to handle heavy rush of passengers at stations.
These include permanent holding areas at 60 stations, access control, wider foot-over-bridges, cameras, war rooms, new generation communication equipment, new design ID card, new design uniform for staff and upgrading of station director post.
The minister said that CCTV cameras are installed at New Delhi railway station, which is being monitored round the clock.
He said a high-level inquiry committee has been constituted for comprehensive investigation into the incident at New Delhi railway station.
The stampede at New Delhi railway station occurred on February 15 in which 18 people died and 15 were injured.