Dropped bag caused stampede that killed 18 at New Delhi station: Vaishnaw

Railways to implement sweeping reforms after the February 15 incident that occurred during rush for Bihar-bound trains amid Maha Kumbh

The stampede at New Delhi Railway Station in February that left 18 people dead, including 11 women and four children, was triggered by a large piece of luggage falling from a passenger’s head, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Parliament on Friday.

 

The minister was responding in writing to a query from Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman. Citing the findings of a high-level inquiry committee, Vaishnaw said the fallen headload caused panic and tripping on a crowded foot-over-bridge during the peak evening rush.

Narrow footbridge, big crowd amplified the impact

The incident occurred at 8:48 pm on February 15 on the staircase linking platforms 14 and 15. Thousands of passengers had gathered at the station to board Bihar-bound trains, as the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj fuelled an unusual surge in foot traffic. 

 

 

“Pressure passed through the crowd following the fall of a headload, leading to passengers tripping on the stairs,” Vaishnaw said, adding that post-mortems confirmed the victims died of traumatic asphyxia.

 

The inquiry found that crowd density on the 25-foot-wide footbridge had been steadily rising since 8:15 pm, worsened by the number of passengers carrying heavy loads on their heads. Despite existing crowd-control measures, the combination of congestion, narrow access points, and unregulated foot traffic proved disastrous.

Surge in tickets and platform congestion

Railway records from the day revealed that more than 7,600 unreserved tickets were sold, with nearly 1,500 issued per hour. Crowd build-up began as early as 6 pm. This volume of footfall ultimately overwhelmed the station’s infrastructure. 

 

The tragedy is the worst at an Indian railway station since the 2017 Elphinstone Road stampede in Mumbai, which claimed 23 lives. Experts have continued to criticise railway authorities for what they call avoidable mismanagement.

New safety protocols for busy stations

In response to the incident, the Ministry of Railways has announced a comprehensive overhaul of crowd management at 73 stations that routinely witness large gatherings.

 

Key measures include:

• Creation of permanent holding areas outside major stations to regulate passenger flow before boarding
• Platform access control, allowing only confirmed ticket holders to enter station premises when trains arrive
• Closure of unauthorised access points to station areas
• Construction of new foot-over-bridges measuring 12 metres and 6 metres wide, replacing narrower legacy structures
• Deployment of advanced surveillance systems, including integrated CCTV monitoring and real-time “war rooms” for crowd control
• Improved communication tools, such as public announcement systems and digital walkie-talkies, for staff coordination

Station directors to get more power

Each major station will also have a designated station director with full financial and operational authority to make decisions during emergencies. All departments at the station will report to this individual, streamlining response during crowd surges. 

  The minister noted that station directors will also regulate ticket sales in line with platform capacity and available services. Staff will be issued new identification cards and uniforms to ensure that only authorised personnel are present during high-traffic events.

 

Pilot implementations of these reforms are already underway at stations such as New Delhi, Anand Vihar, Varanasi, Ayodhya, and Ghaziabad.