Crowded coaches, filthy toilets: Passengers slam Railways as festive rush turns chaotic at stations

Despite tall claims by the Centre of introducing reforms in the railways sector – not to mention the slew of Vande Bharat launches this year – the reality on ground turned out to be completely different.

The balloon of a make-believe world projected both by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was brutally punctured by reality during Diwali and Chhath Puja this year. Over-crowded trains with standing-room only, reserved compartments invaded by ticketless travellers, filthy toilets overflowing with human excreta, and absolutely no semblance of order were what greeted passengers during their train travel during the festive season.

Every year, there is a rush of migrants returning to their hometowns, especially to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, to celebrate Diwali and Chhath Puja with their families. The Indian Railways launches special trains to cater to the huge demand and smoothen the travel process. However, while the Railways launched 1,700 special trains for the festive season this year and added an additional 2.6 million berths, a record number so far, a huge mismatch still existed between the demand and supply.

It was clearly evident from the pandemonium that was witnessed at major and important railway stations across the country.

1 killed in stampede in Surat

There was a stampede in Gujarat’s Surat a few days ago when people rushed to board a Bihar-bound train. While a person was killed in the incident, two were injured and multiple people lost consciousness.

There have been multiple videos doing the rounds of hundreds of people thronging railway stations in Mumbai, serpentine queues at these stations to buy tickets, travellers arriving at the station 24 hours in advance to be able to board a train, and RPF personnel struggling to prevent a stampede.

In Punjab, angry protesters vandalised a railway station in Sirhind after a special train to Bihar was cancelled. Hundreds of people thronged the platforms and the railway tracks shouting slogans, and many of them vented their frustration by throwing stones at the police and some parked passenger trains.

There has been a flood of videos on social media by irate passengers portraying their harrowing experience.

One video showed the huge rush at the New Delhi Railway Station on November 10.

'Pushed out of train,' say passengers with tickets

A passenger posted on X that he could not travel on his reserved seat as people with general tickets were occupying reserved seats.

Another furious passenger claimed that such was the rush at the railway station that he was unable to board the train despite having a third AC ticket. The passenger who shared visuals and photos of his harrowing experience on X, demanded a full refund of his ticket.

The user said he, in fact, was pushed out of the train by a group of labourers who locked the doors of the train and prevented him from entering. He said police did not help him and instead laughed at his predicament.

Railways issues statement

After facing flak over gross mismanagement at railway stations across the country, especially in the wake of the tragedy in Surat, the Railways in a statement said it has launched 1,700 special trains for the festive season and has made elaborate crowd management arrangements at major railway stations.

“Elaborate crowd control arrangements are made at all major and important railway stations, where the huge crowds are predicted to reach for travelling to various destinations for celebrating festivals. Senior officers are stationed at these stations to monitor all the activities to regulate the crowd in a systemic manner,” the Railways said in a statement.

It also said that personnel from Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force have been deployed at foot-over bridges to regulate crowds and avoid stampede-like situations.

Stating that a queue system has been adopted for people to enter general coaches at originating stations, the Railways said RPF staff have been deployed at CCTV control rooms to keep a watch on crowd movement and provide real-time assistance to passengers.