RAILWAYS FESTIVE RUSH 2026: CROWD MANAGEMENT AND PASSENGER SAFETY

Why In News?

The Union Railways Minister inspected New Delhi Railway Station to review passenger facilities, security and crowd management during the Diwali and Chhath festive season.  

What Measures Have Been Taken This Festive Season?

Station-Level Arrangements

• Holding Areas For Reserved Passengers: At New Delhi, a dedicated holding area has been added for reserved ticket holders, on top of the one for unreserved passengers introduced last year. A common holding area now streamlines entry.  

• Luggage Checks Moved Outside: Baggage screening has been shifted outside the station building, and the old ticketing space inside has been turned into a waiting area.  

• Basic Amenities: Extra ticket counters, drinking water and clean washrooms have been provided at major stations.  

Security And Technology

• AI Surveillance: AI-enabled cameras have been installed to strengthen surveillance.  

• More RPF Personnel: Additional Railway Protection Force (RPF) staff have been deployed.  

• Faster Boarding: Special focus is on helping passengers reach their trains in the shortest possible time after entering the station.  

Monitoring System

• Three-Tier Monitoring: Crowds are monitored at the Railway Board, zonal and divisional levels.  

• War Room: A War Room at Rail Bhawan tracks train operations and crowds in real time through live feeds, with mini control rooms at major stations. 

• Data-Driven Planning: The number of special trains is decided using data on travel demand from previous years.  

• Example: In the 2025 festive season, Indian Railways ran 12,011 special trains between October and November, up from 7,724 in 2024, including about 2,220 trains for Bihar alone. 

Crowd Management In India

India continues to witness deadly stampedes at religious events, railway stations and public gatherings. In 2026 alone, crushes at the Sheetla Mata temple in Nalanda (March) and the Ashok Dham temple in Lakhisarai (August), both in Bihar, claimed several lives.  

What Is A Stampede And A Crowd Crush?

• Stampede: A sudden, uncontrolled rush of people, usually triggered by panic or fear, in which people may be trampled.  

• Crowd Crush: A situation where crowd density becomes so high that people are pressed together and cannot move or breathe. Most “stampede” deaths are actually crowd crushes.  

• Dangerous Density: When density rises above about 4–5 persons per square metre, people lose control over their movement, and pressure can travel through the crowd like a wave. 

• Cause Of Death: Most deaths result from compressive asphyxia, where people are squeezed so tightly they cannot breathe, often while still standing. Trampling is less common.  

• Triggers: Rumours, sudden openings or closures of gates, collapsing barricades, bad weather, or the arrival of a celebrity or VIP can trigger deadly surges.  

Crowd Control vs Crowd Management

How Serious Is The Problem In India?

• Long-Term Toll: According to NCRB data, over 2,500 people have died in stampedes and crowd crushes in India over the past two decades.  

• Religious Gatherings: Most deadly incidents occur at religious festivals and pilgrimage sites, which draw enormous crowds.  

Major Recent Incidents

NDMA Guidelines

• Managing Crowds At Events And Venues Of Mass Gathering (2014): The NDMA’s guidelines call for:

• Assessing venue capacity and crowd risk in advance.  

• Separate entry and exit routes and clear emergency exits.  

• Crowd monitoring, communication systems and trained staff.  

• Clear command and coordination among agencies. 

• Medical and emergency preparedness.  

What Are The Key Challenges in Managing Crowd?

Overcrowding And Stampede Risk

• Crowds: Sudden surges at stations, especially on platforms and foot overbridges, can turn deadly.  

• Example: On 15 February 2025, a stampede at New Delhi Railway Station during the rush for Maha Kumbh trains killed 18 people. It exposed gaps in crowd control and platform announcements.  

• Example: In September 2017, a stampede on the Elphinstone Road foot overbridge in Mumbai killed 23 people, showing the risk of narrow infrastructure. 

Capacity Shortfall

• Demand Exceeds Supply: Long waiting lists show that demand far exceeds available seats during festivals. 

• Congested Routes: Busy routes such as Delhi–Howrah and Mumbai–Patna run above full capacity, which limits the number of extra trains that can be added. 

Weak Laws And Enforcement

• No National Law: India has no specific national law on crowd safety. The NDMA guidelines are advisory and unevenly followed.  

• Little Learning: Lessons from one tragedy are rarely applied elsewhere.  

Delays And Punctuality

• Late Special Trains: Special trains often run late as they compete for track space with regular services.  

• Knock-On Effects: Delays on one route ripple across the network. 

Safety And Security Gaps

• Overstretched Forces: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Government Railway Police (GRP) face staff shortages during peak periods.  

• Safety Backlogs: Earlier reviews flagged long-standing safety gaps.  

• Example: The Anil Kakodkar Committee (2012) on railway safety called Indian Railways' safety performance unsatisfactory and recommended major investment in signalling, track upgrades and an independent safety authority. Several recommendations remain only partly implemented. 

• Untrained Staff: Police are trained in law and order, not in crowd science.

Financial Strain

• High Operating Costs: Indian Railways' operating ratio is close to 98%, meaning it spends about ₹98 to earn ₹100. This leaves little money for new capacity.  

• Subsidised Passenger Fares: Passenger services run at a loss and are cross-subsidised by freight.  

What Is The Way Forward?

Make Crowd Management Permanent And Scientific

• Permanent Holding Areas: Extend permanent holding areas beyond New Delhi to all high-footfall stations. After the 2025 stampede, the Railways planned such areas at 60 major stations.  

• Follow NDMA Guidance: Apply the NDMA guidelines on managing crowds at events and venues of mass gathering (2014), including crowd flow planning and trained staff.  

Legal Framework For Crowd Safety

• National Model Law: Develop a model crowd safety law that States can adopt, fixing responsibilities for organisers and authorities.  

• Mandatory Plans: Make crowd management plans mandatory for large events, with licences linked to compliance.  

Expand Network Capacity

• Dedicated Freight Corridors: Shift freight to Dedicated Freight Corridors, freeing tracks for more passenger trains. 

• More Lines And Trains: Add new lines, doubling and tripling on busy routes, and more trains such as Amrit Bharat non-AC trains for low-income passengers. 

Upgrade Stations

• Modern Stations: Redevelop stations under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, which covers over 1,300 stations, with wider foot overbridges, better circulation areas and separate entry and exit routes.  

Use Technology For Safety And Planning

• AI Monitoring: Expand AI-enabled cameras and real-time crowd analytics across stations.  

• Train Protection: Speed up the rollout of Kavach, the indigenous automatic train protection system, to prevent collisions.  

• Predictive Planning: Use data from past years to plan special trains and staff deployment in advance.   

Improve Ticketing And Access

• Fair Booking: Strengthen anti-tout measures, such as Aadhaar-based authentication for Tatkal bookings introduced in 2025. 

• Digital Convenience: Expand unreserved ticketing through apps like UTS and integrated platforms such as RailOne, along with more counters for those without smartphones. 

Learn From Global Practices

• Large-Scale Festival Travel: Other countries manage huge holiday surges with planning and technology.  

• Example: China's Chunyun, the travel rush around the Spring Festival, is the world's largest annual human migration. China manages it with high-speed rail, online ticketing, advance sales and real-time crowd control, offering lessons for India.  

• Punctuality Culture: Japan's Shinkansen shows how disciplined operations and dedicated tracks can keep high-volume services on time. 

Strengthen Coordination And Finances

• Multi-Agency Coordination: Improve coordination among the RPF, GRP, local police, municipal bodies and health services during peak periods.  

• Financial Reform: Improve the operating ratio through better asset use, non-fare revenue and efficiency, as suggested by the Bibek Debroy Committee, so that more funds can go into capacity.  

• Address Root Causes: Balanced regional development can, in the long run, reduce distress migration and the scale of festive surges. 

Conclusion

The festive rush is a yearly stress test of Indian Railways, carrying crores of migrant workers home for Diwali and Chhath. New holding areas, AI surveillance and real-time monitoring show welcome progress, especially after past stampedes. Lasting solutions, however, require more network capacity, modern stations, fair ticketing, scientific crowd management and long-term investment, so that every passenger can travel home safely.

Source: THE HINDU