Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has approved the construction of permanent passenger holding areas at 75 additional railway stations across India, including several key terminals in Mumbai. The move aims to enhance passenger comfort and improve crowd management, particularly during peak travel seasons. According to a senior Western Railway official, the expansion follows the successful pilot project at New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS), where a permanent holding area was built earlier this year. The new list includes six stations under Central Railway — Mumbai CSMT, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), Dadar, Nagpur, Nashik Road, and Pune — and eight stations under Western Railway, including Mumbai Central, Bandra Terminus, Udhna, Surat, Ahmedabad, Ujjain, Vadodara, and Sehore. The Railway Minister has directed that all facilities be completed before the 2026 festive season, ensuring readiness for high passenger volumes. This nationwide rollout was prompted by the February 2025 stampede at New Delhi Railway Station, where several lives were lost and many injured due to an unexpected surge of passengers heading to Prayagraj during the Maha Kumbh Mela. In response, NDLS was chosen for a pilot project, and its new holding area — completed within four months — has since proved effective in managing large crowds during festivals and peak travel periods. The upcoming facilities will be built with modular designs tailored to each station’s conditions. They will feature adequate seating, toilet facilities, medical booths, “May I Help You” counters, ticket scanning zones, drinking water points, enquiry counters, and digital train indicators. For safety and efficiency, each holding area will be divided into ticketed and non-ticketed sections, supported by upgraded security and crowd control systems. “These permanent holding areas will provide passengers with safer and more comfortable spaces to wait, while significantly easing crowd pressure at busy railway stations,” the official added.