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After 2024 stampede scare, Bandra Terminus to get 3,700-passenger holding area
Developing
In Short: Bandra Terminus station in Mumbai is set to receive a new 3,700-passenger holding area to manage crowds and prevent stampede-like situations, ahead of Diwali.
Railway officials say that passenger segregation will help regulate passenger flow towards the platforms, particularly during rush hours and festive seasons. The facility, developed by the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), is part of a broader effort to manage overcrowding.
The holding area, spread across 2,625 square metres, will hold as many as 3,700 passengers. Of this, 1,345 square metres will be earmarked as a pre-ticketing zone, equipped with benches, information screens, water coolers, and toilets. The area outside the holding zone will also be fitted with bollards, portable signage, reflective lights, and traffic marshals to prevent unauthorized vehicle entry.
The new facility is being constructed to prevent a stampede-like situation at Bandra Terminus in October 2024, when over 2,500 commuters attempted to board a Gorakhpur-bound train, leaving 10 injured. A smaller 370-square-metre passenger holding area with a capacity of 600 commuters was also erected in the station’s east circulation area for crowd management.
What's still developing
- “Railways being a heritage network, there are only a certain number of infrastructural upgrades, like increasing platform size, that can be undertaken. Since the platform space cannot be changed, such a facility would help distribute and manage passenger crowds effectively,” said a senior railway official.
Sources
- The Indian Expresslink