Indian Railways announces special train to Prayagraj after New Delhi Station stampede

Indian Railways will operate a special train for devotees travelling to Prayagraj from platform 16 of New Delhi Railway Station, officials confirmed on Sunday. The decision comes after a tragic stampede on February 15 that left 18 people dead and several injured.

DCP Railway KPS Malhotra stated, "As of now, Prayagraj Special will run from platform number 16, and then Vande Bharat will run. Let railways manage that show, we will do our work. We have sufficient deployment here." He assured that "the situation at platform 16 is normal and under control."

The stampede was triggered when a passenger lost balance and slipped on the stairs leading to platforms 14 and 15. The chaos resulted in multiple injuries, Northern Railways CPRO told ANI. The tragedy struck at 10 p.m. on Saturday as lakhs of devotees were heading to Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh 2025 festival, causing severe overcrowding at the station.

In response, Indian Railways has formed a two-member committee to investigate the incident. The panel includes Northern Railway's Principal Chief Commercial Manager (PCCM) Narsingh Deo and Principal Chief Safety Commissioner (PCSC) Pankaj Gangwar. The committee has launched a high-level inquiry and ordered the retrieval of all available video footage from the station to aid the probe.

Meanwhile, Central Railway officials had previously announced four special trains for Maha Kumbh, along with additional ticket booking counters and 'May I Help You' booths to manage the influx of passengers.

The victims of the stampede were identified as Aaha Devi, 79, Pinky Devi, 41, Sheela Devi, 50, Vyom, 25, Poonam Devi, 40, Lalita Devi, 35, Suruchi, 11, Krishna Devi, 40, Vijay Sah, 15, Neeraj, 12, Shanti Devi, 40, Pooja Kumar, 8, Sangeeta Malik and Poonam, both aged 34, Mamta Jha, 40, Riya Singh, 7, Baby Kumari, 24, and Manoj, 47.

Indian Railways has announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of the deceased, Rs 2.5 lakh for the seriously injured, and Rs 1 lakh for those with minor injuries.