Diwali and Chhath Puja crowd management: Railways ban platform tickets at 5 major stations

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Indian Railways has taken a significant step to manage the massive passenger rush during the Diwali and Chhath Puja festivals. Starting today, October 15th, the sale of platform tickets has been completely banned at five major railway stations in Delhi and Ghaziabad. This ban will remain in effect until October 28th. During this period, only passengers with confirmed tickets will be permitted to access the platforms.

According to railway officials, this decision has been taken for New Delhi, Old Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Anand Vihar Terminal, and Ghaziabad railway stations. Platform tickets will not be issued at ticket counters, as well as through mobile apps (UTS) and automatic ticket vending machines (ATVMs) during this period.

Officials explained that the number of passengers increases significantly during the festive season. This creates unnecessary congestion on platforms due to family members seeing off passengers, making it difficult to maintain order. This step has been taken to improve crowd management and ensure the smooth movement of only genuine passengers.

However, keeping in mind the convenience of elderly, women and illiterate passengers, the Railways has exempted them from this restriction, so that one person can accompany them to the platform to assist them.