‘Arrangements in place for festive rush,’ Railway Minister says

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that the government's "war room" is closely monitoring crowds at 28 key Indian Railways stations during the festive rush. The minister displayed a live dashboard showing crowd levels across the country. Over 18,000 additional trains have been arranged this Deepavali season, significantly more than the 12,000 special trains deployed last year at the same time.

These additional trains came about due to the expansion of tracks at various stations, allowing for more frequent halts, according to Vaishnaw.

Security measures have been intensified, with additional personnel from the Railway Protection Force (RPF) deployed at entry and exit points, platforms, and other crowded areas to regulate queues, manage crowds, and enhance overall security.

While numerous stations experienced severe crowding, New Delhi's (NDLS) was the only station to reach this level, with crowds building up from 4 p.m. on Friday, November 6, 2026. However, the crowd was relieved by additional trains within four hours, and no such crowd was observed at the station on Saturday morning, November 7, 2026.

To alleviate the extra passenger rush, Deepavali special trains between Bengaluru-Mangaluru-Goa were operated on November 7, 8. These services aimed to clear the additional passenger load during the Deepavali festival.

A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed against misleading claims of station crowding that allegedly used old footage. The Railway Minister instructed officials to have those clips removed from social media.