New Delhi: The Indian Railways is undertaking a special measure on crowd management in railway stations across the country. The tragic stampede incident at New Delhi Railway Station during Maha Kumbh has necessitated this action on behalf of Indian Railways.
From now on, the moment the footfall in a railway station crosses 15,000, there will be a boom barrier in place preventing further entry of travellers.
Only valid passengers with QR codes will be then allowed entry. This will prevent large crowds from gathering to see off passengers, reducing congestion at stations.
After COVID, Indian Railways tried crowd management by increasing the fares of platform tickets but this too has not worked as the current situation shows.
A total of 39 stations including Howrah and Sealdah have been included in this boom barrier exercise on a trial basis.
The pilot project is currently working in the Ambala division’s Mohali, Chandigarh and Ambala stations. Seeing the success of the project so far, the decision has been taken to replicate the same project in the already identified 39 stations.
These exercises are part of the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. Once the crowd management system is successful in 39 stations, this can be extended to all railway stations across the country.
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