Special train announcement ‘behind’ Delhi stampede

A mad scramble to get from one platform to another following an announcement regarding the arrival of a special train to Prayagraj, where Maha Kumbh is underway, triggered the tragic stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS) on Saturday night, the Railways has said.

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The death toll rose to 18 on Sunday as the Northern Railway named the two-member committee that will probe the incident.

An unusually large crowd had assembled on platform No. 14 to board Prayagraj Express. In a bid to ease congestion, the Railways announced the arrival of another train — Prayagraj Special — on platform No. 12, triggering a sudden surge of passengers towards the foot overbridge. This resulted in the stampede with most of the victims getting trampled to death on the staircase leading to the foot overbridge linking the two platforms.

“At New Delhi station, Prayagraj Express was about to be placed at platform No. 14. There was a surge to board trains headed towards Prayagraj for the ongoing Maha Kumbh. Seeing this, a special train was announced for Prayagraj from platform No. 12”, the Railways said in a statement.

“The incident took place around 9.15 pm on the staircase of platform Nos. 14 and 15, where a large crowd had gathered to board trains heading to Prayagraj. Neither did the Northern Railway change any platform, nor cancel any special train,” it said.

Multiple special trains had been arranged on Saturday to clear the rush of passengers headed towards Prayagraj for Maha Kumbh, it said.

Meanwhile, Narsingh Deo, principal chief commercial manager of the Northern Railway, and Pankaj Gangwar, principal chief security commissioner, will carry out the probe. The committee has secured the video footage of the railway station.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also announced Rs 10 lakh compensation for the families of the deceased, Rs 2.5 lakh for the seriously injured and Rs 1 lakh for those with minor injuries.

The police said the announcement of trains with the same initial name — ‘Prayagraj,’ led to the confusion. The Railways, however, claimed that the special train for Prayagraj announced at the time of the tragedy was “Subedarganj Special.”