Western Railway’s Largest Holding Area Getting Ready at Udhna Railway Station

Surat: Western Railway is setting up its largest passenger holding area on the eastern side of Udhna Railway Station to manage the expected rush of migrant passengers travelling to their home states for Diwali and Chhath Puja.

The facility can accommodate up to 15,000 passengers at a time and is aimed at preventing overcrowding on platforms, drawing lessons from the chaos witnessed at the station in previous years.

Measuring 500 metres in length and 36 metres in width, the holding area is in the advanced stages of completion. It is set to become the second-largest facility of its kind in the country and the largest in the Western Railway zone. The facility has been developed to streamline passenger movement, ticketing and boarding during the festive season, when thousands of people travel from Surat to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha.

The facility has been divided into three zones to regulate passenger movement. These include a pre-ticketing area for entry and initial waiting, a designated ticketing area equipped with a queue management system, and a waiting area for passengers who have purchased tickets and are awaiting their trains.

To strengthen crowd management and security, around 70 high-definition CCTV cameras have been installed across the premises. A dedicated control room, or war room, will enable senior railway officials to monitor crowd levels in real time. The facility also has around 150 public announcement speakers and digital display screens to provide passengers with train-related information and instructions.

Ten ticket windows are being set up to reduce waiting times, including a dedicated counter for passengers with disabilities.

The holding area also has parking facilities, approach roads, toilets, urinals and bathing facilities. Arrangements have been made for a round-the-clock supply of clean drinking water for passengers waiting for their trains.

Under the crowd management plan, passengers will remain in the holding area until their respective trains arrive at the platform. Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, Government Railway Police (GRP) staff and ticket-checking personnel will then guide them to the platforms and their respective coaches in organised queues to prevent congestion and reduce the risk of stampede-like situations.

Western Railway has also announced more than 1,800 special train trips across its network to accommodate the additional festive-season traffic. Of these, more than 250 trips will operate from the Surat-Udhna area to destinations in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. DeshGujarat