Northern Railway has temporarily discontinued the sale of platform tickets at New Delhi (NDLS) and Anand Vihar Terminal (ANVT) railway stations. The move aims at controlling the extra rush of passengers and better crowd management on the occasion of Diwali and Chhath festival. The ban will remain in force till November 18, 2023 (Saturday).
However, the zonal railway has exempted the persons coming to these two stations who are not in a position to fend for themselves. “The persons coming to the stations just to assist the aged, illiterate and lady passengers etc who are not in a position to fend for themselves will be exempted from this restriction,” Northern Railway said in a statement.
The move comes at a time when both the stations are witnessing huge rush of passengers. The ticket booking counters at the stations are also experiencing huge crowds due to the beginning of unreserved special train services towards Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The platform tickets are purchased from the unreserved ticket counters.
Last week, a person lost his life while several others were injured in Western Railway’s Surat station, after a chaos occurred when passengers were boarding a Bihar-bound Tapti Ganga Express train for the Chhath festival.
The national transporter is operating more than 300 festival special trains in association with other zonal railways. It has taken various initiatives to enhance the security measures.
Apart from deployment of security staff and station staff, the senior Divisional officers are maintaining round the clock monitoring of the situation at different stations. Safety, Security, Amenities, Cleanliness as well as Vigilance has been stepped up so that the passengers can experience a conducive environment during festive season. The national transporter has also advised passengers to comply with the designated queue system and follow instructions from railway authorities for their safety.