NEW DELHI: The tragic stampede at New Delhi railway station on Saturday, which claimed the lives of 18 passengers, including five children, has raised serious concerns about the railways' crowd management during peak travel times.
Despite Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's continuous monitoring of live CCTV feeds from a war room at the ministry, ground officials failed to anticipate or control the overwhelming rush of passengers.
The sharp surge in ticket sales for the February 15 journey, with 1,500 tickets sold within an hour, should have been an early warning. However, railway officials did not take preventive measures. A high-level meeting on safety was reportedly held at the ministry level on the day of the stampede, yet the chaos at the station remained unchecked.
With the weekend coinciding with the Mahakumbh, large numbers of pilgrims had travelled to New Delhi, and last-minute announcements of special trains from other stations only added to the confusion. As passengers moved in a frantic scramble from platform 14 to platform 16, a stampede ensued.
A railway staff member at the station confirmed, "In the mad rush, passengers moved from platform 14 to platform 16 in a frantic scramble, ultimately leading to the stampede."
What has shocked many is the silence from the railways regarding the casualties. The official death toll was not released until Sunday afternoon. Railway officials dodged crucial questions about who authorised the overcrowding, why the Railway Protection Force (RPF) was inadequately deployed, and why contingency plans were not put into action despite the evident surge in demand.
On Sunday, frustrated passengers at the station demanded answers. "How could such an incident happen despite live monitoring from the ministry? Were there failures in communication or in anticipating crowd behaviour? Why were contingency plans not implemented when ticket sales soared?"
By Sunday morning, crowds surged again at platforms 14 and 15 with the arrival of trains from Prayagraj and other locations between 10:45 am and 11:30 am, making it difficult for passengers to exit.
This newspaper witnessed the chaotic scenes as pilgrims returning from Mahakumbh struggled to leave the station, all while being under the heavy glare of media cameras.
On the footbridge near platforms 14 and 15 towards the Ajmeri side of the station, visibly panicked elderly passengers, especially women, were seen moving through the packed crowd. Many who had travelled for the Mahakumbh noted that while the crowd management at the event was well-organised, the conditions on trains and at the station were unbearable.
Devendra Singh Gujjar, a passenger from Delhi who had returned from Prayagraj by the Shiv Ganga Express, remarked, "We never faced any problems while taking dips at Mahakumbh, but inside the trains, the crowd was overwhelming. Even going to attend nature’s call was difficult for elderly passengers."
Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora visited the RPF office at New Delhi station to discuss the stampede. However, even after the tragedy, the deployment of RPF personnel remained inadequate until Sunday afternoon. Only two officers—a man and a woman—were seen attempting to manage the massive crowd single-handedly.
The Ministry of Railways has now constituted a two-member panel to probe the incident. Dileep Kumar, Executive Director (Information & Publicity), confirmed that Narsingh Deo, Principal Chief Commercial Manager of Northern Railway, and Pankaj Gangwar, Principal Chief Security Commissioner of Northern Railway, would lead the investigation. Meanwhile, railway authorities have begun reviewing CCTV footage from the station to understand the sequence of events.
Eyewitnesses present at the station during the tragedy stated that they had never seen such an overwhelming crowd in the past 20 years. A senior railway official admitted that the sheer number of passengers on Saturday had not been anticipated.
Northern Railway's Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Himanshu Upadhyay, explained, "At the time of the incident, the Patna-bound Magadh Express was stationed at platform 14, while the New Delhi-Jammu Uttar Sampark Kranti Express was at platform 15. Some people who were coming down from the footbridge towards platforms 14 and 15 using the stairs slipped and fell on others."
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has continued to monitor the situation closely. On Sunday, he reviewed the developments with officials and also met with Home Minister Amit Shah. However, as investigations proceed, the key question remains—could this tragedy have been prevented?
