STAMPEDE AT NEW DELHI RAILWAY STATION
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
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 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
(k) if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
(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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