Lok Sabha Question No. 2090 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-12
Subject: Stampede at New Delhi Railway Station
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, Shri Hibi Eden, Shri Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Adv Dean Kuriakose, Shri Arvind Ganpat Sawant, Shri Bajrang Manohar Sonwane, Smt. Sajda Ahmed, Shri K Radhakrishnan, Shri Hanuman Beniwal, Shri Subbarayan K, Shri Anand Bhadauria, Shri  Selvaganapathi T.M., Shri K C Venugopal, Shri Raja A, Prof. Sougata Ray, Dr. Kirsan Namdeo, Adv. Adoor Prakash

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2090 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.03.2025

## STAMPEDE AT NEW DELHI RAILWAY STATION

## 2090. SHRI GURMEET SINGH MEET HAYER:

ADV DEAN KURIAKOSE:

SHRI RAJA A:

SMT. SAJDA AHMED:

SHRI K C VENUGOPAL:

SHRI SELVAGANAPATHI T.M.:

SHRI SAPTAGIRI SANKAR ULAKA:

SHRI ANAND BHADAURIA:

DR. KIRSAN NAMDEO:

SHRI HANUMAN BENIWAL:

SHRI BAJRANG MANOHAR SONWANE:

SHRI HIBI EDEN:

SHRI ARVIND GANPAT SAWANT:

ADV. ADOOR PRAKASH:

SHRI K RADHAKRISHNAN:

PROF. SOUGATA RAY:

SHRI SUBBARAYAN K:

## Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the measures taken by the Railways to manage  the passenger surge during the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025;
- (b) the details of special trains introduced, station infrastructure enhancements, crowd management strategies  and  technological  interventions  for  passenger safety;
- (c) whether there have been incidents of train damage due to overcrowding  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the
- (k)
- affected trains, locations, nature of damages, actions taken and cases registered;
- (d) whether an inquiry has been conducted into the New Delhi Railway  Station  stampede,  if  so,  the  details  of  findings, causes, responsible entities, and corrective measures, death  and  injury  toll,  with  a  breakdown  of  casualties  and injury types;
- (e) whether  the  Government  has  compensated  the  victims' families;
- (f) if so, the details of the  number  of  families,  amounts disbursed,  payment  mode  (cash  or  bank  transfer)  and  the most  recent  prior  instance  of  cash  payments  for  similar
- cases;
- (g) whether responsibility fixed and action taken against erring railway  officials  for  official  negligence  and  poor  crowd management and if so, the details thereof;
- (h) whether any action was taken against passengers who were travelling  without  tickets  and  causing  inconvenience  to other passenger as a result of over crowding;
- (i) whether the Government had anticipated such traffic during Maha Kumbh and made any preparation for the same;
- (j) whether  the  Government  is  implementing  new  policies  to regulate  foot  traffic  and  prevent  overcrowding  at  railway
- stations; and
- if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a)  to  (k):  For  successfully  organizing  "Mahakumbh  2025"  at Prayagraj, following measures were taken by Railway:

## Infrastructure improvement

Infrastructure improvement/ augmentation/ capacity enhancement  works  in  Prayagraj  area  of  more  than  ₹5,000  cr have been completed. Commissioning of entire Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) enabled movement of goods trains on DFC thus freeing up space for running additional Kumbh special trains along the Delhi-Howrah route.

The doubling of Prayagraj-Varanasi and Phaphamau-Janghai, including  the  construction  of  a  major  bridge  across  the  River Ganga,  was  completed.  Major  upgradation  of  yards  including those at Prayagraj, Subedarganj, Phaphamau, Rambag, and Jhunsi,  have  been  made  to  accommodate  a  larger  number  of trains.

Additionally, three new washing lines and 21 Nos. Road Over Bridges  (ROBs)  and  Road  Under  Bridges (RUBs)  have  been  built thus  eliminating  all  level  crossings  in  the  region  for  improved mobility of road users.

## Passenger Amenities

To  improve  the  tourism  infrastructure  and  to  ensure  easy access and comfortable experience to domestic and international pilgrims at Prayagraj, Naini, Prayagraj Cheoki, Subedarganj, Jhusi, Prayagraj  Rambag,  Prayag  and  Phaphamau  stations,  various works have been carried out as per the requirement.

These works include improvement to circulating area, parking, Divyangjan facilities, signages, platform surfacing, construction  of  drinking  water  booths,  Ashray  Kendras,  toilets, widening of approach roads, development of second entries and construction of foot over bridges etc.

Additional  food  and  refreshment  arrangements  were  made to cater to the large volume of passengers. Furthermore, waiting rooms at railway stations have been upgraded and enhanced for better comfort.

For the first time, Yatri Suvidha Kendras was established at Prayagraj  Junction  and  Prayagraj  Chheoki,  offering  essential services  such  as  wheelchairs,  luggage  trolleys,  hotel  and  taxi bookings, baby milk, and essential medicines.

To avoid delays, ticketing capacity increased to issue up to 10  lakh  tickets  per  day.  A  four-stage  power  backup  plan  was implemented to ensure continuous power.

First Aid booths and medical observation rooms were set up across stations. Additionally, a railway toll-free number was made available for passenger convenience, and a multi-lingual leaflet in 12 languages is being distributed to assist pilgrims in navigating the event.

## Train Operations

More than 17,300 Nos. trains carrying 4.24 crore passengers was operated  during  the  period  13  Jan  2025  to  28  Feb  2025  in Maha Kumbh-2025. This includes more than 3,000 special trains, a  significant  increase  from  the  694  trains  operated  during  the 2019 Kumbh. For the first time, Ring Rail services connecting key religious sites like Ayodhya, Varanasi, and Chitrakoot are operational on daily basis during the Mela.

## Safety & Security

Extensive arrangements have been made by Indian railways to  facilitate  the  pilgrims  and  to  take  care  of  their  safety  and security. This includes passenger enclosures at the stations with holding capacity of more than 1 lakh. An additional holding area was developed in Khusrobag with holding capacity of another 1 lakh  pilgrims.  Internal  movement  plans  within  the  stations  and external movement plans between railway stations and Mela area have been prepared jointly with state government.

Guided  and  directional  movement  was  ensured  in  entire railway premises to ensure that there is no conflicting movement on  FOBs,  stairs/ramps  and  at  Entry  and  Exit  gates.  Provision  of signages has been made at large scale and announcements are being  done  on  regular  basis  to  guide  the  passenger  movement. Extensive arrangements of security was made with deployment of more than 15000 forces from RPF, GRP and Para Military forces at the railway stations. Use of Hand Held Metal Detectors (HHMDs), Door Frame Metal Detectors (DFMDs), Baggages Scanners, Sniffer Dogs and other security gadgets like body worn camera, use of drone camera for surveillances is being done to ensure safety and security  of  the  pilgrims  using  rail  services.  "Meri  Saheli"  teams comprising of women personnel are deployed at stations and in trains  to  ensure  women's  safety.  Close  coordination  have  been made with State police & GRP to restrict criminal activities over the railway infrastructure. In addition RPF teams have also been deployed for the assistance to passengers including old aged and to provide facilities like wheelchairs etc.

A state-of-the-art Mahakumbh war room has been set up at Prayagraj's divisional control center. Extensive disaster management  plans  were  made  to  handle  emergencies  such  as fires, stampedes, bomb threats, and medical crises.

Health

Sufficient  medical  facilities  have  been  provided  at  the various stations for the well being of pilgrims.

Challenges

During Maha Kumbh 2025, 22 Nos. of trains was reported to be damaged. An unfortunate incident of Stampede at New Delhi Railway Station was also reported. A High level inquiry into the matter has been ordered. Railways  pays  compensation  for  death/injury  of  railway passengers in train accidents and untoward incidents as defined under Section 124 and Section 124-A (read with Section 123) of the  Railways  Act,  1989,  which  is  decided  by  Railway  Claims Tribunal  (RCT)  on  the  basis  of  a  claim  application  filed  by  the victims/their dependents before RCT and it disposes of the cases after  following  the  due  judicial  process.  Railway  Administration pays compensation when a decree is awarded by Hon'ble RCT in favor  of  the  claimant  and  Railways  decide  to  implement  the decree.

In the instant case, an ex-gratia @ ₹10 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased, @ ₹2.50 lakh each to the grievously injured and @ ₹01 lakh each to the simple injured has been paid. Accordingly, a  total  amount  of  ₹2.01  Crore  have  been  paid  to  33  victims  or their family members.

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