New Delhi, October 11 (H.S.) – A major step has been taken to improve passenger experience at one of the busiest railway stations in the country, the New Delhi Railway Station. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday inspected the newly constructed “Passenger Facility Center.” This state-of-the-art permanent holding area can accommodate around 7,000 passengers at a time, significantly improving crowd management and passenger convenience at the station.

Speaking to the media, Minister Vaishnaw said that New Delhi Station often faces sudden crowd surges, especially during festival seasons. Two years ago, a temporary holding area was set up here, which proved to be very helpful for passengers. Seeing its success, a permanent “Passenger Facility Center” has now been built. This center will be particularly useful for passengers without reserved tickets. Such passengers can now directly come to this holding area, where they will find facilities for ticket purchase, seating, drinking water, toilets, and other amenities in one place. The internal ticket counters are being shifted here, and new ones are also being opened. The center has ample space for passengers to sit, rest, and buy tickets. It includes more than 150 toilets, RO-based drinking water systems, seating areas, and security measures like CCTV cameras, luggage scanners, and door frame metal detectors.

Vaishnaw said that under Prime Minister Modi’s vision to transform Indian Railways, new tracks, modern stations, holding areas, new trains, and advanced locomotives and coaches are being developed rapidly. Considering the festive rush, the minister informed that a record number of special trains will run this year during Chhath Puja and Diwali. This has been made possible due to the major expansion in railway capacity. So far, 34,000 kilometers of new tracks have been laid. A large-scale recruitment process is ongoing, with around 1.3 lakh employees being recruited, and 18,000 loco pilots have already been appointed. In addition, 12,000 new general coaches are being manufactured, of which about 3,000 are already in use.

The new passenger facility center has been divided into three main zones for smooth passenger movement: the ticketing area (2,860 sq. meters), post-ticketing area (1,150 sq. meters), and pre-ticketing area (1,218 sq. meters). Through these three zones, crowd control at the station’s main entrance will be streamlined, offering passengers a comfortable experience. Built by Northern Railway, the center has all modern arrangements for passenger comfort and safety. It includes 22 modern ticketing counters and 25 automatic ticket vending machines. There is seating for 200 passengers, 18 high-volume low-speed fans, a dedicated toilet block covering 652 sq. meters, RO-based drinking water, a public announcement system with 24 speakers, 3 LED information displays, 7 fire-fighting units, 18 CCTV cameras, 5 luggage scanners, and 5 metal detector gates. Along with this project, Foot Over Bridge (FOB-1) has also been extended, allowing passengers to move directly toward the metro station from the train platform. This will reduce congestion and strengthen multimodal connectivity.

The Railway Minister informed that similar permanent facilities will be developed at 76 major stations across the country where heavy passenger traffic is observed. The first trial of this system at New Delhi Station will take place during the upcoming Chhath Puja and Diwali. Based on the results, the system will be implemented at other stations as well. The minister also stated that the capacity of online railway services will be increased several times in the coming months. The capacity of IRCTC will increase nearly tenfold by February or March. People are rapidly shifting to the “RailOne” app. The minister emphasized that the primary focus of Indian Railways is to ensure passenger comfort and safety. He said that railways remain the most important means of transport for the country’s middle and lower-income groups, and continuous efforts are being made to improve their facilities.

During the inspection, the Railway Minister was accompanied by Railway Board Chairman and CEO Satish Kumar, Northern Railway General Manager Ashok Kumar Verma, and several senior officials who provided detailed information about the planning, construction, and operations of the Passenger Facility Center.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar