NEW DELHI: The government informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that New Delhi railway station (NDLS) saw an unusual surge in ticket sales on February 15, 2025, with 13,000 more general tickets sold than the daily average over the past six months.
In a written response to Trinamool Congress MP Mala Roy, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that a total of 13,000 additional unreserved tickets were sold on the day of the incident, bringing the total to 50,000 tickets—a sharp rise compared to the usual daily average. The surge in passengers coincided with the Kumbh Mela, a major religious gathering.
Additional Special Trains Were Deployed
To accommodate the spike in demand, the Railway Ministry deployed five Kumbh Special trains from New Delhi railway station, each capable of carrying 3,000 passengers. “These five special trains were arranged for an additional 15,000 passengers, which was more than the increase in ticket sales that day,” Vaishnaw told the Lok Sabha.
Railway Officials Transferred Amid Ongoing Probe
Following the February 15 stampede, railway authorities took immediate administrative action. The divisional and additional divisional railway managers of Delhi, the station director, and the senior divisional commercial manager were all transferred pending an official investigation.
The railway minister also elaborated on the different ways passengers can obtain unreserved tickets, explaining that such tickets for journeys up to 199 km can be purchased on the day of travel, either at station counters or through various other ticketing systems. He further mentioned that passengers traveling from any of the 57 cluster stations connected to New Delhi railway station can buy their tickets in advance.
As concerns over crowd management grow, authorities continue to review safety protocols and ticketing procedures at major stations to prevent similar incidents in the future.
