To handle heavy rush of passengers at stations over the Indian Railways, following decisions have been taken:

1. Creation of Permanent holding areas at 76 identified stations for crowd management:

• The Ministry of Railways has initiated plans to establish passenger holding areas to decongest the platforms at 76 stations, designed as comfortable, organized spaces with essential amenities such as seating, drinking water, toilets, ticketing facilities, information displays, and security checks to handle peak-hour footfall. Holding area at New Delhi Railway Station has already been commissioned, easing congestion and enhancing passenger convenience with facilities like additional ticket counters, ATVMs, PAS, electronic train information boards, CCTV surveillance, luggage scanners, DFMDs, uninterrupted power supply, improved lighting, HVLS fans, fire- fighting and lightning protection systems, RO drinking water, and separate toilets for men, women, and Divyangjans.

•  Similar provisions at other stations are under various stages of planning and execution, with timelines subject to iterative optimization.

2. Access control:

Complete access control is being provided, allowing passengers with confirmed reserved tickets direct entry to the platforms, while those without tickets or holding waiting list tickets will be accommodated in designated outside waiting areas. Complete access control is being provided where passengers with confirmed reserved tickets will be given direct access to the platforms whereas, passengers without a ticket or with a waiting list ticket will wait in the holding area.

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 developed. These new standard wide FOBs will be installed in all the stations.

4. CCTV Cameras:

A large number of AI-enabled CCTV cameras are being installed at railway stations and adjoining areas to facilitate close monitoring and effective crowd management.

5. War rooms:

War rooms are being established at major stations, where officers from all departments will work in coordination to manage crowd situations effectively.

6. New generation communication equipment:

Latest design digital communication equipment like walkie-talkies, announcement systems, calling systems will be installed on all heavy crowd stations.

7. New design ID card:

All staff and service personnel will be issued newly designed QR-based ID cards to ensure controlled and secure access to 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 crisis situation.

9. Upgradation of Station Director post:

At all major stations, a senior officer will be designated as the Station Director, vested with financial powers to take on-the-spot decisions for station improvement. All other departments will report directly to the Station Director to ensure unified command and efficient management.

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 the available trains.

This information was provided by the Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on Friday.

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Dharmendra Tewari/ Dr. Nayan Solanki/ Ritu Raj