Towards safer train stations

The Railways have done well to announce measures to prevent overcrowding at stations and mishaps such as last month’s stampede in the New Delhi railway station which resulted in the death of 18 people.

It has also proposed steps that would help the authorities deal with such contingencies more efficiently.

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told parliament last week that it had been decided to introduce complete access control at 60 major stations. A pilot project has been launched at five stations, including New Delhi, Varanasi, and Ayodhya.

According to this, only passengers with confirmed tickets will be allowed to enter the platforms and unauthorised entry points will be sealed. The aim is to avoid overcrowding at the stations.

There is no clarity on how this restriction would impact old and infirm passengers who need help from others to reach the platforms and board the trains or alight from them.

A blanket ban on people accompanying passengers might create inconvenience for many. It also needs to be seen whether the Railways have the manpower to ensure that only ticket-holding passengers enter the platforms.

The other proposed steps are more realistic and can be implemented effectively. War rooms will be set up at major stations and there will be better monitoring of crowds with installation of more cameras. Railway staff will have new identity cards and newly designed uniforms so that they can be easily accessed. Major stations will have a station director who has powers to take decisions about controlling ticket sales on the basis of the station’s capacity and the availability of trains.

Such decisions are within the powers of the railway authorities even now – they should be exercised sensibly and in accordance with the demands of the situation.

The minister said investigations were under way into what caused the stampede at the New Delhi station. However, it is generally agreed that the incident resulted from issuance of too many tickets.

There are other issues that need to be addressed. There should be a prompt display of train schedules and all relevant information – such as delays in the arrival and departure of trains – needs to be communicated to the passengers.

Change of platforms, especially when there is not much time left for the trains to leave, has been a major cause of inconvenience; this can also lead to passengers rushing to rescheduled platforms, causing stampedes. Many of these measures are rooted in common sense.

It is important to implement them with intent and efficiency. Stampedes are only one form of mishap – the larger vision for safety should factor in measures to avoid all mishaps and accidents.