Date: 2025-08-01Category: Not ApplicableState: Union GovernmentCountry: India
73 Major Stations Facing Rush Situations to Have a Station Director, Empowered to Take “On-the-Spot Decongesting Decisions ” Like Restricting Sale of Tickets as per Capacity & Availability of Trains During Festive Rush
**Policy Summary: Indian Railways Congestion Mitigation Plan**
The Ministry of Railways has announced a comprehensive plan to manage and mitigate heavy passenger congestion at 73 major railway stations across India. Key elements of the plan, effective August 1, 2025, as outlined by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, include infrastructure upgrades, access control measures, enhanced communication systems, and empowered station management.
**Infrastructure Improvements:**
* **Permanent Holding Areas:** Construction of permanent holding areas outside the 73 identified stations to manage crowd buildup before train arrivals, building upon successful pilot projects at New Delhi, Anand Vihar, Varanasi, Ayodhya, and Ghaziabad stations.
* **Wider Foot Over Bridges (FOBs):** Installation of newly designed standard FOBs, available in 12-meter (40 feet) and 6-meter (20 feet) widths, to improve passenger flow.
**Access Control and Security:**
* **Restricted Platform Access:** Implementation of complete access control, granting direct platform access only to passengers with confirmed reserved tickets. Passengers with waitlisted or no tickets will be directed to designated waiting areas. All unauthorized entry points will be sealed.
* **Enhanced Surveillance:** Deployment of CCTV cameras at railway stations and adjoining areas for close monitoring and crowd management.
* **Improved Communication:** Installation of new generation digital communication equipment, including walkie-talkies, announcement systems, and calling systems.
* **Staff Identification:** Introduction of new design ID cards and uniforms for all staff and service personnel to facilitate easy identification and prevent unauthorized access.
**Station Management Empowerment:**
* **Station Director Authority:** Appointment of a senior officer as Station Director at each of the 73 stations, with all departments reporting to this individual. The Station Director will be granted financial empowerment to make on-the-spot decisions for station improvements.
* **Ticket Sales Control:** Empowerment of the Station Director to control ticket sales based on station capacity and train availability.
**Coordination and Enforcement:**
* **Stakeholder Collaboration:** Collaboration with Government Railway Police (GRP), State Police, and Railway Protection Force (RPF) for crowd management and assistance to passengers. Deployment of GRP and RPF staff at sensitive locations and foot over bridges.
* **Intelligence Gathering:** Deployment of intelligence units (CIB, SIB) and plainclothes staff for information gathering related to passenger rush and coordination with GRP/Police.
**Contact:**
PIB Delhi
Dharmendra Tewari
Dr. Nayan Solanki
Ritu Raj
Release ID: 2151482
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Railways: The government ministry responsible for the Indian Railways.
Indian Railways: The state-owned national railway company of India.
Ashwini Vaishnaw: The Union Minister for Railways, Information Broadcasting and Electronics Information Technology.
New Delhi: The capital of India, where pilot projects for holding areas have started.
Surat, Gujarat: A city in Gujarat where holding areas were created during the festival season of 2024.
Patna, Bihar: A city in Bihar where holding areas were created during the festival season of 2024.
Rajya Sabha: The upper house of the Parliament of India, where a question was addressed regarding the handling of passenger rush at stations.
Mahakumbh: A major Hindu pilgrimage and festival, during which crowd management measures were implemented, influencing the design of footover bridges and camera usage.
Ministry of Railways
73 Major Stations Facing Rush Situations to Have a
Station Director, Empowered to Take “On-the-Spot
Decongesting Decisions ” Like Restricting Sale of
Tickets as per Capacity & Availability of Trains
During Festive Rush
Railways to Enhance Crowd Management with Wider
Foot Over Bridges and Creation of Permanent
Holding Areas Outside Stations; Pilot Project for
Holding Areas in Progress at 5 Stations, Says
Ashwini Vaishnaw
CCTV Surveillance, Walkie-Talkies, Announcement
Systems and War Rooms Being Set Up at Major
Stations to Help Decongest Heavy Crowd Situations
Only Confirmed Ticket Holders to be Given Direct
Access to Platforms; Ticketless and Waitlisted
Passengers to Stay in the Outside Waiting Area Till
the Arrival of Train
Posted On: 01 AUG 2025 6:19PM by PIB Delhi
Indian Railways has planned following actions to handle heavy rush of passengers at stations over the Indian
Railways: -
1. Creation of Permanent holding areas at 73 identified stations:
During the festival season of 2024, holding areas were created outside stations. These waiting areas
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were able to hold large crowds at Surat, Udhna, Patna and New Delhi. Passengers were allowed to
enter only when the train came to the platform.
Similar arrangements were made during Mahakumbh at nine stations of Prayag area.
(cid:108)Based on the experience of these stations, it has been decided to create permanent waiting areas
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outside stations at 73 stations across the country, which periodically faces heavy crowds. Crowd
build up will be controlled within the waiting area. Passengers will be allowed to go to platforms
only when the trains arrive at the platform. This will decongest the platforms.
Pilot projects have started at New Delhi, Anand Vihar, Varanasi, Ayodhya, and Ghaziabad
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stations.
2. Access control:
Complete access control will be initiated at the 73 identified stations.
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Passengers with confirmed reserve tickets will be given direct access to the platforms.
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Passengers without a ticket or with a waiting list ticket will wait in the outside waiting area.
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All unauthorised entry points will be sealed.
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3. Wider Foot-over-bridges (FOB):
Two new designs of 12 metre wide (40 feet) and 6 metre wide (20 feet) standard FOB have been
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developed. These wide FOBs with ramps were very effective in crowd management during
Mahakumbh. These new standard wide FOBs will be installed in all the stations.
4. Cameras:
Cameras helped crowd management in a big way during Mahakumbh. CCTV cameras at Railway
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stations and adjoining areas will aid close monitoring and management of crowd at railway
stations.
5. War rooms:
War rooms at large stations will be developed. Officers of all departments will work in the war
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room during crowd situations.
6. New generation communication equipment:
Latest design digital communication equipment like walkie-talkies, announcement systems, calling
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systems will be installed on all heavy crowd stations.
7. New design ID card:
All staff and service persons will be given a new design ID card so that only authorised persons
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can enter the station.
8. New design uniform for staff:
All staff members will be given new design uniforms so that they can be easily identified during a
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crisis situation.
9. Upgradation of Station Director post:
All major stations will have a senior officer as Station Director. All other departments will report to
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the Station Director.
Station Director will get financial empowerment so that he can take on-the-spot decisions for
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improving the station.10. Sale of tickets as per capacity:
Station Director will be empowered to control the sale of tickets as per capacity of the station and
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the available trains.
Further, the following steps are being taken in coordination with other stakeholders to control the rush at
stations:-
Coordination with GRP/State Police and concerned railway departments are made for ensuring
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crowd management.
Government Railway Police (GRP) & Railway Protection Force (RPF) staff are deployed at
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sensitive locations to regulate crowd smoothly during the heavy rush period and render real time
assistance to passengers.
GRP & RPF staff are deployed at foot-over bridges to regulate crowd smoothly in order to avoid
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stampede like situation during the heavy rush period and render real time assistance to passengers.
Intelligence units (Crime Intelligence Branch (CIB)/Special Intelligence Branch (SIB)) and plain
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cloth staff is deployed for collection of information about rush and accordingly arrangements were
made associating GRP/Police.
This information was provided by the Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and
Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha
today.
*****
Dharmendra Tewari/ Dr. Nayan Solanki/ Ritu Raj
(Release ID: 2151482)