Sale of platform tickets was on Monday stopped at three major railway terminus in Delhi to ensure better crowd management in the wake of the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station which left two persons dead.
A Northern Railway spokesperson said that sale of platform tickets has been stopped at New Delhi, Old Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations from this morning. "A strict monitoring mechanism has been put in place to ensure that only bonafide passengers enter platforms," the spokesperson said, adding GRP, RPF and scout and guides have also been asked to properly handle the summer rush.
Railways have set up a four-member high-powered committee to investigate the incident. In view of the incident and to decongest New Delhi station, officials indicated that several more trains could be shifted to Anand Vihar railway terminal in east Delhi. The new terminal was inaugurated in December last year to handle trains mostly bound for eastern states, but only about seven trains were announced.
Railway officials said that they were waiting for the communication network at the station to develop properly before shifting more trains. But following yesterday's tragedy, there has been a renewed sense of urgency to shift more train to Anand Vihar soon, officials said. Railway Board is now mulling operating more trains to eastern states like Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa from Anand Vihar terminal, he said. The station in its full flow has the capacity to accommodate three lakh passengers and about 272 trains daily. At present, Railways are running special trains from Anand Vihar Station, with 2,000 trips arranged for this summer season alone.
The station is flanked by Anand Vihar metro station on one side and the inter state bus terminus on the other.PTI
