New Delhi: Anticipating a surge in passenger traffic during the Sankranti festival across Northern, North Central, and Southern Railways, the railway authorities are implementing extensive crowd management and security measures to ensure passenger safety, smooth movement, and regulated flow of traffic.
These measures include enhanced CCTV surveillance, improved ticketing infrastructure with additional counters and automatic ticket vending machines, establishment of control rooms at stations, and deployment of ground operation teams comprising Railway Protection Force (RPF) and ticket checking staff. This is to ensure controlled entry/exit at gates, clearance of foot overbridges (FOBs), queue management, and passenger guidance.
Explaining the assessment process for estimating passenger numbers during the upcoming festivals, a senior railway official told ETV Bharat, “To estimate the number of passengers at stations during festival rushes, the administration evaluates three main indicators. Firstly, it examines the number of special trains announced for or passing through a particular station, which automatically increases the passenger count there.”
Secondly, it reviews the passenger patterns recorded at the same station during the same period in previous years. Thirdly, it analyzes the previous year’s ticket sales data. Based on these assessments, officials begin advance preparations for the upcoming festival and implement crowd management strategies.
In this regard, SCR General Manager Sanjay Kumar Srivastava held a detailed review meeting on train operation safety and handling of festival crowds across the zone. He emphasized the preparations for managing the crowds during the upcoming Sankranti festival season.
Control Rooms
Active awareness campaigns are being conducted to encourage passengers to book tickets through the RailVan app, and timely and accurate information regarding train arrivals/departures, special trains, platform numbers, and coach positions is being provided at stations. Information is also being disseminated through social media platforms, print and electronic media. Passengers are requested to arrive at the station well in advance, especially during peak hours, and to follow announcements and signage (boards near the routes) for smooth and safe movement within the station premises.
Coordination between Departments
To facilitate passenger movement during the festive season, good coordination between departments and proper deployment of manpower has been ensured. Measures related to passenger safety, smooth movement, regulation of entry and exit points, and staff preparedness to manage the increased number of passengers during peak hours have been thoroughly reviewed.
Holding Areas
Infrastructure improvements have been made, such as creating holding areas to manage passenger flow and prevent overcrowding on platforms, opening foot overbridges, decongesting areas, and providing more stoppages at various stations.
Safety Protocols
Field staff are required to adhere to safety protocols, especially while performing track maintenance work and shunting operations. Officials emphasized the importance of fire safety precautions, including equipment maintenance and regular inspections to prevent any untoward incidents within railway premises.
Authorities have ensured the availability of CCTV cameras at stations, goods sheds, and non-interlocked level crossing gates, improved ticketing infrastructure counters, and automatic ticket vending machines.
Special Train Services
According to railway data, in 2025, the railways significantly increased special train operations to effectively manage the seasonal travel surge, demonstrating robust planning and a renewed focus on passenger comfort.
A record-breaking 43,000+ special train trips were operated during the year. Considering the high travel demand, 17,340 special trains were operated for the Mahakumbh, 1,144 for Holi, 12,417 as summer specials, and 12,383 for Chhath Puja, ensuring better connectivity and reduced congestion during peak periods.
Special Trains
To handle the increased rush expected during the upcoming Sankranti festival season, the railways are planning to introduce special train trips, including 41 special trains by South Central Railway to various destinations.
Coaching and Catering Services
At Prayagraj and surrounding stations, North Central Railway will upgrade and streamline coaching and catering services to accommodate the large number of pilgrims.
Several major holy baths will take place on Makar Sankranti. Millions of pilgrims and devotees will take a holy dip and offer prayers to their deities.
Food Stall Arrangements
To cater to the needs of the pilgrims, the railways have increased and upgraded catering stalls, multi-purpose stalls, and refreshment rooms. The aim is to ensure the availability of good quality food and beverages so that pilgrims do not face any inconvenience during their journey.
