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New Delhi, Oct 30 (IANS) Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has approved a plan to develop 76 new passenger holding areas at various railway stations across the country ahead of the 2026 festive season.
According to an official statement issued on Thursday, the decision was taken following the success of the passenger holding area at the New Delhi railway station, thereby enhancing pre-boarding facilities for passengers.
The new holding areas planned across the country will follow a modular design and will be constructed taking into account local conditions. The statement said the Union Minister has directed that all holding areas should be completed before the festival season of 2026.
New Delhi station managed extremely heavy rush of passengers during Diwali and Chhath with the help of its newly developed holding area, which was completed within four months.
The Passenger Facilitation Center (permanent holding area) at New Delhi Railway Station is designed to accommodate approximately 7,000 passengers at any time, significantly enhancing pre-boarding comfort and passenger flow.
The facility has been strategically divided into three areas – ticketing, post-ticketing and pre-ticketing – to streamline passenger movement. The holding area of New Delhi station can accommodate over 7,000 passengers and is equipped with 150 toilets for men and women, ticket counters, automatic ticket vending machines and free RO water facilities.
Indian Railways had also run 7,800 additional trains to ease the surge in passenger traffic for Diwali and Chhath and set up war rooms to keep an eye on the festive crowd.
Vaishnav made a surprise visit to New Delhi Railway Station and took a ground level assessment of the arrangements made for passengers during the festive season.
Indian Railways set up a dedicated “War Room” at Rail Bhawan to monitor and manage the huge influx of festive passengers. This command center enabled real-time monitoring and allowed officials to immediately address overcrowding, passenger complaints and potential incidents, the minister said.
According to an official statement, the war room has evolved into an effective system overseeing the entire Indian Railways network, as more than 80 war rooms were active at the Railway Board, zonal and divisional levels.
–IANS
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