Delhi stampede: How centralised war room, crowd-holding zones, AI will help monitor Mahakumbh rush at railway stations

Following the deadly stampede at New Delhi Railway Station, the Railways Ministry vowed to overhaul its crowd monitoring capabilities to control the Mahakumbh rush.

On Saturday night, delay of three trains, including a Prayagraj Special for Mahakumbh devotees, led passengers to rush after the train's designated platform was changed. In the aftermath of the stampede, the New Delhi Railway Station has stopped counter sale of platform tickets till February 26, the last day of Mahakumbh. The RPF has also set up barricades and intensified patrolling accompanied by announcements to guide the passengers.

However, the New Delhi Railway Station saw congestions continue this week, with people fighting for space on platforms, stairs and overbridges.

Centralised war room

In order to avoid further tragedies related to the Mahakumbh rush, the ministry said it will now identify 60 high-traffic railway stations. Among these, 35 key stations will be tracked real time from a centralised war room.

Most of the crowd heading to Mahakumbh originates from a 300km radius in Uttar Pradesh and adjoining states and travel from these 35 stations to Prayagraj. NDLS and other key stations in Delhi are among these 35.

Crowd holding areas

Passengers at railway stations will be guided by sign boards that show the direction to designated holding areas in the platforms. These holding areas will be colour coded.

Officials will be given training to manage if a stampede-like crisis occurs.

AI and CCTV monitoring

The Railways will also use AI to track the movement of crowd, including train delays that partly led to the recent stampede. The cameras will also track people waiting on foot-over-bridges etc. RPF officials said people are often seen waiting on the foot-over-bridges without any reason and this leads to delays for other passengers trying to reach their platforms.

Feedback

Another initiative by the ministry is to gather feedback from passengers, porters and shop owners at the railway stations. The Railways said it will help them identify issues that are often overlooked.