New Delhi Railway Station sees ‘stampede-like’ chaos due to delays of Jammu Rajdhani, Lucknow Mail, 3 other trains

New Delhi Railway Station News: The Delhi Police informed that a ‘stampede-like atmosphere’ occurred in New Delhi railway station on Sunday after delay in the departure of Shiv Ganga Express, Swatantrata Senani Express, Jammu Rajdhani Express, Lucknow Mail, and Magadh Express caused heavy rush. “Due to the cumulative effect of these delays, heavy passenger congestion was observed at the platforms”, Delhi Police said.

The Delhi Police informed that the situation at New Delhi Railway Station turned chaotic and led to a stampede-like atmosphere, resembling the crowd management challenges witnessed during the Maha Kumbh arrangements in the past.

Necessary crowd control measures had to be promptly taken to avoid any untoward incident. No injuries reported, confirmed Delhi Police.

Northern Railway CPRO Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay confirmed excessive rush at Delhi Railway Station: “In the evening, Delhi Railway Station generally experiences extra rush, and since today is Sunday evening, the crowd was slightly higher than usual. However, trains have departed, and the situation is now normal. As soon as we noticed the extra crowd, we immediately implemented crowd control measures and utilised holding areas. The situation is now completely under control. Even earlier, it was manageable, and with our crowd management techniques, we ensured that passengers boarded their trains smoothly.”

However, Ministry of Railways denied stampede-like situation in their statement and said, “There was a heavy rush at New Delhi Railway Station, no stampede or stampede-like situation. The protocol of taking unreserved passengers through the holding area is being used”.

According to the police, no injury was reported. However, there was an extra rush at the railway station due to delay of a few trains.

Passengers were seen scaling the barricades and jumping queue.

Now, a few trains have left and the situation is under control, they said.

The situation escalated into a near-stampede scenario as multiple trains got delayed. The Delhi Police has implemented crowd management measures to prevent any untoward incident, they said.

New Delhi Rail Station Stampede During Maha Kumbh

On February 15, delay of two trains, a horde of passengers waiting on platform number 14, and an announcement for a special train – led to a stampede at New Delhi Railway Station, which left 18 dead and several injured.

The stampede incident at New Delhi Railway Station occurred within 10 minutes between 9.30 pm and 10.15 pm on platform number 14, where many people were trapped on the foot over-bridge, stairs, and escalators, Indian Express reported.

“Due to the weekend, many passengers were trying to board trains going towards Prayagraj for the Mahakumbh between 9 and 10 pm. At the same time, two trains – Swatantra Senani Express and Delhi-Bhubneshwar Rajdhani Express – were also delayed due to which the number of passengers increased at platforms 12, 13 and 14,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Railways) KPS Malhotra said.

As per the commercial cum ticket inspector, around 1,500 general tickets were also sold every hour, the officer said.

(With inputs from agencies)