Railways to run general train to decongest platforms at Delhi Stations

In view of the crowding at the New Delhi Railway Station on Sunday due to delay in departure of five trains, including two because of mechanical glitches, the railways plans to run a train with general coaches and unreserved seats in such "rare" situations to decongest platforms.

This provision is only for those with unreserved tickets, according to officials. Those with reserved seats will have to wait for their trains to arrive.

Officials said though such situations are rare, they would be ready with the plan so that a large number of passengers with unreserved tickets waiting on platforms can take the train put on contingency service. This will help quickly reduce crowd, they said.

The New Delhi station witnessed overcrowding on Sunday evening as hundreds of passengers gathered on platforms 12 and 13 due to delay in departure of important trains.

While the Shiv Ganga Express was delayed by more than an hour, departing at 9.20 pm instead of its scheduled departure at 8.05 pm, Swatantrata Senani Express was already occupying a platform for its scheduled 9.15 pm departure, along with the Jammu Rajdhani Express and Magadh Express.

The rush lasted for sometime, prompting authorities to implement immediate crowd control measures.

No injuries were reported. The railways has decided to keep two trains as standby at around 60 identified major stations to meet any surge in passengers during festive seasons.