New Delhi stampede: How Railways missed warning signs
What's the story
The fatal stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station, which killed 18 people, has raised questions over missed warning signs.
Notably, there was a sudden spike in ticket sales, just hours before the tragedy.
The Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) sold 2,600 extra general tickets in the two hours preceding the incident, according to the Indian Express.
This took the total number of tickets sold that day to 9,600, against an average of 7,000.
Official statement
Railway official admits to crowd management issues
A senior railway official has admitted that crowd management at the station could have been better.
The official revealed that on February 15, the day of the stampede, around 54,000 general class tickets were booked at New Delhi Railway Station.
The figure is slightly lower than those recorded on February 8 and January 29 (Mauni Amavasya), when 54,600 and 58,000 general tickets were sold, respectively.
Verification challenges
Overcrowding hampers ticket verification, new measures planned
Reportedly, the Mahakumbh surge made it difficult for railway officials to verify tickets on several lines.
One official said, "Though UTS may give a figure but the actual crowd may be much higher."
The official further admitted due to overcrowding, there's no place to stand in trains making ticket checking nearly impossible.
Responding to the incident, and as a measure to control crowds, no platform tickets will be issued between 4:00pm and 11:00pm at New Delhi Railway Station.
Future plans
'Permanent holding areas' proposed at New Delhi Railway Station
Further, the railway authorities are also mulling the setting up of "permanent holding areas" at the station in the wake of the stampede.
These would be dedicated spaces for passengers to wait before boarding their trains, which could help with crowd control and prevent such incidents from happening again.
The government will also deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other technology for crowd and crisis management, per reports.