South Western Railway implements measures for effective crowd management

Bengaluru: The South Western Railway (SWR) has implemented measures to ensure smooth operations across the Hubballi, Mysuru, and Bengaluru divisions, in view of increased passenger traffic during the Deepavali festival, officials said on Monday.

A total of 55 trains are scheduled for the benefit of passengers during Deepavali and Chhath festive season, they said.

According to SWR officials, for regular trains extra coaches are also augmented based on the heavy waiting list trains to clear the rush.

Officers, Commercial staff and Scouts and Guides volunteers along with Security personnel are deployed during this rush hours to control the crowd at all major stations like, Hubballi, Dharwad, Belagavi, Vasco Da Gama, Gadag, Hosapete, Ballari, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, KSR Bengaluru, Yesvantpur, Mysuru, Tumakuru, Bengaluru Cantt., Mandya, Hassan, Davangere and other railway stations across SWR.

“Increased the presence of RPF (Railway Protection Force) to maintain order and security, especially during rush hours. Security was significantly enhanced with the installation of additional CCTV cameras and baggage scanners. Extra lighting and backup power supplies are also arranged to ensure safety during peak hours and to handle any potential technical disruptions,” the SWR said in a statement.

Temporary help desks have been set up to assist passengers with ticketing, directions, and schedule information at all major stations of SWR, it said.

Among other measures — additional ticketing counters have been provided to clear the extra rush, queue managers are deputed at booking counters and at the general coach entrances to ensure that passengers obtain ticket and board the train in orderly manner, first aid box availability and ensure medical staff are on standby in case of health emergencies due to crowd pressure. Medical booths along with SWR will temporarily add additional AC 3-tier coaches to some trains, they added.

“Additional Ticket checking staff are being deployed at the stations so as to guide the passengers about the availability of the special trains. Additional signage/Time table boards were installed across all platforms to guide passengers efficiently to Foot Over Bridges (FOBs), escalators, restrooms, and platforms. This improved navigation and reduced confusion among the large crowd,” the statement added.