Indian Railways makes special arrangements for Chhatt and Diwali at THIS railway station, Ashwini Vaishnaw also plans to…, passengers can now…

New Delhi: In a major development, the India(BHARAT)n Railways has informed that the about 90 percent of the work on the permanent holding area being built at New Delhi Railway Station for crowd management during Diwali and Chhath Puja has been completed. This time, the holding area will be used to manage the crowd.

To ensure that passengers do not have to use stairs and foot overbridges to catch their trains, the holding area has been connected directly from the surface to surface with Platform No. 16. Railway officials claim that the facility will start functioning before the festive season.

In fact, during the Kumbh Mela, a stampede at New Delhi Railway Station had claimed 18 lives. After this incident, the Railways decided to build permanent holding areas at New Delhi, Anand Vihar Terminal, Ghaziabad, Ayodhya, and Varanasi stations. To implement this decision, Northern Railway signed an agreement with Rail India(BHARAT) Technical and Economic Service Limited (RITES). Work on the project is progressing rapidly.

Here are some of the key details:

• On August 29, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also visited the site to review the situation.
• The permanent holding area has been constructed on the Ajmeri Gate side and has been directly connected to Platform No. 16.
• Passengers will be brought onto the platform from the holding area through barricades.
• More than 150 toilets and urinals have been built on the platform.
• Arrangements are also being made for drinking water and food stalls.
• At Anand Vihar, a temporary holding area will be set up. Here, 25 additional ticket counters, 15 AVTMs, drinking water, toilets, help booths, and food counters will be provide
• This facility will remain available from October 15 to 30.

Holding area divided into 3 sections

First section: The pre-ticketing area can accommodate around 2,700 passengers. As soon as passengers enter the holding area, they will have to wait here.

Second section: The ticketing area will have seating capacity for 3,100 passengers. Here, 25 additional ticket counters and 25 AVTMs are being set up. Passengers will be able to book their tickets on their own.

Third section: After ticketing, in this area—following security checks and baggage scanning—around 1,350 passengers will be able to wait comfortably.