Passenger Safety and Convenience in Indian Railways

The recent stampede at New Delhi railway station on February 15 highlights the outdated approach to passenger safety and convenience in Indian Railways. Despite the booming services and the large number of passengers ferried to Prayagraj during the Kumbh Mela, fundamental crowd control measures were ignored, leading to this tragedy.

Key Issues Identified

• Systemic Failures:
  • Indifference to basic safety needs, not resource constraints, led to the tragedy.
  • Last-minute announcements and failure to manage passenger movement caused chaos.
• Crowd Control Negligence:
  • Lack of unidirectional movement and inadequate staffing of security personnel.
  • Failure of CCTV monitoring systems to prevent escalator bottlenecks.
• Repetitive Blame Shifting:
  • Railways blamed passengers and ticket sales surge, although festival crowds are predictable.
  • Established protocols like those for Chhath festivals were not implemented.

Post-Tragedy Measures

Some crowd control measures were introduced after the tragedy, such as additional security personnel and better CCTV monitoring, but these are basic solutions that should have been in place beforehand.

Administrative Response

• Official Narrative Issues:
  • Initial denial and obfuscation about the incident's details.
  • Conflicting statements, insensitivity in ex gratia payments, and conspiracy probe suggestions.
• Lack of Accountability:
  • High-level inquiry conducted by potentially culpable railway executives.
  • Absence of an independent investigation by bodies like the Commissioner of Railway Safety.

Underlying Systemic Problems

The Indian Railways exhibits systemic inertia, failing to learn from past tragedies like the Elphinstone Road stampede in 2017 and the Allahabad station incident in 2013. Until these issues are addressed, such tragedies will likely continue.