Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday approved a plan to develop permanent passenger holding areas at 76 stations across the country including four in Karnataka to streamline the movement of people with general tickets.
Four holding areas will be coming at SMVT Bengaluru, Yesvantpur, Krishnarajapuram and Mysuru railway stations, said a statement from the Ministry of Railways.
Some other busy stations have holding areas including Mumbai CSMT, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Nagpur, Nashik Road, Pune, Dadar, Howrah, Sealdah, Asansol, Mathura, and Agra Cantonment stations.
"The new holding areas planned across the country will follow a modular design and will be constructed keeping in view local conditions. The Union minister has directed that all holding areas should be completed well before the 2026 festival season," a press note from the ministry said.
"This decision was taken following the success of the passenger holding area at New Delhi Railway Station," it added.
The railway ministry had ordered the construction of a permanent holding area after 18 passengers were killed in a stampede at the New Delhi railway station on February 15.
Officials said the New Delhi railway station managed the extremely heavy rush of passengers during Diwali and Chhath with the help of its newly developed holding area, which was completed within four months.
During festival rush, railway passengers are first made to sit in these holding areas and will be allowed to enter the stations as and when their train arrives on the platform. This was mainly to regulate the crowd at platforms and avoid overcrowding, said the railway officials.
These holding areas will have facilities including Pre-Ticketing, Ticketing, and Post-Ticketing — to streamline passenger movement. Besides toilets, ticket counters, automatic ticket vending machines, and free RO water facilities, said the railway officials.