As commuters, we should be part of the solution

Ashwini Vaishnaw

A high-level meeting was held recently, led by Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, to discuss crowd control at stations. Several key decisions were taken to enhance passenger management and safety across major stations in the country.

Permanent outside waiting areas will be established at 60 stations that periodically experience heavy crowds. These waiting areas were successfully implemented during the 2024 festival season at Surat Udhna, Patna, and New Delhi, as well as during the Mahakumbh at nine Prayag area stations. Pilot projects for permanent waiting areas have commenced at New Delhi, Anand Vihar, Varanasi, Ayodhya, and Patna stations. This initiative will contain sudden crowd surges, allowing passengers onto platforms only when trains arrive, a detailed report stated in this paper.

A much-needed move is that passengers with confirmed reserved tickets will have direct access to platforms, while those with waiting list tickets or without tickets will be required to wait in designated outside areas. Unauthorised entry points will be sealed.

Commuters must realise that this is for their benefit. Ticketless travel must invite the strictest penalties. Crowd control measures are important but the people need to exercise discipline and maturity, to make this truly effective. There is the human factor and technical aspect, too, optimum control happens when both work in sync. Orderly entrance is key. Rumours causing alarm and anxiety lead to chaos.

Good announcement systems, clear communication is vital. Irresponsible talk about problems, disasters means crowds go out of control and the situation spirals. In the end, the onus is on people to respect the measures and maintain decorum. More power to safety at our stations.