The day when a stampede broke out at the New Delhi Railway station, there was a significant surge in ticket bookings on Saturday (Feb 15), with 2,600 more general class tickets sold than usual during the 6 pm to 8 pm time frame, Indian media reports said citing the Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS).

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The stampede at the railway station broke out between 9 pm and 9.20 pm, killing 18 people and injuring several others.

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What did the Railway Ministry say?

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In total, more than 54,000 general class tickets were booked through UTS on Saturday. 

“While there is no doubt that there were a huge number of people on the platform on February 15, it is still less than the total UTS tickets booked on 8 February and 29 January. On both of these days, 54,660 and 58,000 general class tickets were booked respectively. The crowd could have been managed,” said a senior official of the Ministry of Railways.

Another official noted that the ticket sales figures may not accurately reflect the actual crowd size, as many people were rushing to take a dip in the Triveni sangam during Maha Kumbh, potentially skewing the numbers.

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“Because of the Maha Kumbh, currently, Indian Railways is not checking for the tickets on many key lines. There is already a huge rush; people are fighting to even stand inside the train. In such a situation, it is impossible to check if people in general class have booked a ticket or not. This figure of UTS ticket is reflective, but the actual crowd could have been much more,” said another Railways official.

CRPF deployed at New Delhi Railway station

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Delhi Police have been deployed at the New Delhi Railway station to manage the crowd situation.

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CRPF will also assist Delhi Police in managing the situation. Senior CRPF officers are inspecting the station.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Railways has announced that all special trains in the direction of Prayagraj will be run from platform number 16.

(With inputs from agencies)