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New Delhi Railway Station stampede: 2,600 extra tickets were sold in 2 hours, says report
On the day of the incident, over 9,600 general class tickets were sold between 6 pm and 8 pm at New Delhi Railway Station, surpassing the usual 7,000 tickets.
The Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) showed that 2,600 extra tickets were booked on Saturday between 6 pm and 8 pm, the same day the deadly stampede occurred at New Delhi Railway Station, The Indian Express reported.
The stampede took place around 10 pm when a surge of passengers, disoriented by conflicting train announcements, hurried towards platform 16 via a narrow staircase. This resulted in 18 deaths and more than a dozen injuries.
On average, around 7,000 tickets are booked at New Delhi Railway Station between 6 pm and 8 pm each day. However, on the day of the incident, over 9,600 general-class tickets were sold during this period.
The report further mentioned that over 54,000 general class tickets were booked via UTS on Saturday. “While there is no doubt that there were a huge number of people on the platform on February 15, it is still less than the total UTS tickets booked on 8 February and 29 January. On both of these days, 54,660 and 58,000 general class tickets were booked respectively. The crowd could have been managed,” a senior official from the ministry of railways told The Indian Express.
‘Incident could have been averted’: Official
Another official explained that due to the rush for a dip at the Triveni Sangam during the Maha Kumbh, the total number of tickets booked doesn't fully reflect the actual crowd. "Because of the Maha Kumbh, currently, Indian Railways is not checking for the tickets on many key lines. There is already a huge rush; people are fighting to even stand inside the train. In such a situation, it is impossible to check if people in general class have booked a ticket or not. This figure of UTS ticket is reflective, but the actual crowd could have been much more," the official said.
The incident might have been prevented if the railway administration had anticipated the crowd based on the high number of tickets being booked during the two crucial hours, the official added.
The railways sold 1,500 general tickets every hour, leading to uncontrollable overcrowding at the station.
Additional force deployed
The Railway Ministry has implemented measures to prevent future incidents like Saturday's stampede. Additional personnel from Delhi Police, Railway Protection Force (RPF), and Government Railway Police (GRP) were deployed to manage the crowd at the station, which remained overcrowded on Sunday.
Following the stampede, eight companies of paramilitary forces, including the Rapid Action Force, were assigned to manage the crowd until the Maha Kumbh concludes in Prayagraj. These forces were stationed primarily at platforms 12 to 16, where trains to Prayagraj usually depart.
Efforts include setting up barricades, intensifying patrols, deploying quick reaction teams, and enhancing CCTV surveillance with control rooms monitoring real-time footage. Announcements are being made to guide passengers and prevent panic. Despite these measures, congestion continued on Sunday, with thousands still crowding platforms and foot-over bridges.
