Railways' new safety steps: Smart planning or knee-jerk reaction?

Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw this week informed Parliament that investigations were underway into the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station on February 15, which left 18 passengers dead and many injured. In this context, Mr Vaishnaw also said a decision had been taken to introduce complete access control at 60 stations. A pilot has been launched at five stations, including New Delhi, Varanasi, and Ayodhya. Accordingly, only passengers with confirmed tickets will be allowed to go to the platforms and unauthorised entry points will be sealed to contain the crowd. As reported last week, the railways is taking several steps to avoid a repeat of the incident. A dedicated war room will be set up at different stations and monitoring will improve through the installation of more cameras. All railway staff will have newly designed identity cards. They will also get a new uniform so that they can be identified easily and will be in a position to make interventions as and when needed. All major stations will have a station director with powers to make quick decisions. The director will also be able to control ticket sales, depending on station capacity and train availability. After having experimented with temporary waiting-areas outside several stations, the railways will build such permanent waiting-areas at busy stations.

 

The steps taken or under consideration by the Indian Railways to enhance capacity for managing potential surges in passenger numbers are encouraging. However, like many policy decisions, the impact will depend on how some of the proposed steps are implemented. It is worth noting that crowding at railway stations, particularly during the festival season, is not very unusual. It is thus important that managers at large stations remain alert at all times. Although the results of the ongoing investigation into the February incident will reveal the cause, news reports suggest confusion on the platform and the issuance of an excessive number of tickets led to the tragedy. Both these could have been easily avoided. Along with the steps being taken by the railways, some other measures can also be considered.

 

Train-related information must be communicated clearly at the railway stations. At large stations, such as New Delhi Railway Station, more digital screens displaying arrivals and departures are needed. To avoid overcrowding at large stations, especially during busy seasons, the railways can consider stopping the issuance of tickets — even for the unreserved category — a certain number of hours before the departure of the train or after a reasonable number of tickets have been issued. Train delays also tend to cause overcrowding on platforms. Passengers can be informed about delays through text messages well in time, allowing them to plan better. Other train-related information, such as the platform for departure and coach position, can also be provided well in advance. Changes after passengers have been informed must be avoided. Alterations in positions of platforms and coaches at the last minute tend to cause chaos and must be avoided. The plan to stop unauthorised entry should be enforced strictly at all stations. This will also help curb unauthorised or ticketless passengers, preventing inconvenience to bona fide travellers. To be sure, the railways serves as a lifeline for a rapidly transforming India. It must meet expectations by ensuring a safe and convenient experience for new-age travellers.