Confusion over trains led to stampede

Police: 2 trains with identical names on different platforms led to confusion among passengers before the tragedy

- Rajesh Kumar Thakur and Shekhar Singh

Miscommunication, inefficient crowd control measures, confusion over train names are among the major factors that led to the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday night, which killed at least 18 people, 14 of them women, and injured another 15 passengers.

Over 2,500 passengers booked tickets at New Delhi on Saturday within a span of just one hour, which could also have resulted in overcrowding.

"As 2,600 more tickets were booked within an hour at New Delhi, and there was a surge in crowd numbers for Prayagraj, a special train was announced from Platform 12," the rail ministry said. While the ministry said there was no platform change or cancellation of any special trains, vendors and porters at the railway station claimed an announcement was made about platform change.

Following this, they said, passengers waiting at Platform 14 rushed towards Platform 16, resulting in the stampede.