To decongest platforms, Railways to construct Holding areas at 76 stations
“We have decided to construct Holding areas at 76 more stations, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav told reporters at the ‘War Room’ in the Rail Bhawan set up to monitor the ongoing passenger rush due to the festival season.
The Holding areas play a significant role in crowd control as they prevent overcrowding on platforms, especially during festive seasons like Diwali and Chhath Puja, and other major events.
The responsibility of construction of holding reas has been given to the Railways subsidiaries – RITES and RLDA, he said.
At a station where a Holding area is in operation, only passengers with confirmed tickets will be allowed to proceed to the platforms close to the time of departure of their train.
The facilities at the holding areas include ticketing counters, automatic ticket vending machines (ATVMs), seating arrangements, drinking water, and restrooms to make waiting more comfortable.
The New Delhi holding area, which opened in October 2025, has the capacity to accommodate around 7,000 passengers at a time.
According to the plan, 76 more stations have been selected to create Holding areas outside these stations keeping the high passenger footfalls in mind.
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The major stations where holding areas would come up include Howrah, Sealdah, Mumbai CSMT, Nagpur, Patna, Danapur, Gaya, Puri, Bhubaneswar, Varanasi, Nizamuddin, Anand Vihar, Jammu, Katra, Haridwar, and Ranchi among others.
The plan envisages complete access control of the platform area should be ensured.
For this, all unauthorized entry points would be sealed and proper planning of barricading would be done so that passengers with confirmed tickets are given direct access to the platform whereas passengers without tickets or waiting list tickets wait outside in the waiting area created. (BVI)
