Did passengers’ confusion over train names lead to New Delhi railway station stampede?

The preliminary investigation into the fatal stampede at the New Delhi railway station on Saturday, which resulted in 18 deaths, revealed that passengers were confused between the ‘Prayagraj Express’ and ‘Prayagraj Special’, fearing they would miss their train, according to Delhi Police sources. The misunderstanding arose because the trains were announced with the identical initial name ‘Prayagraj’.

Sources from the Delhi Police indicated that the declaration of the ‘Prayagraj Special’ arriving at Platform 16 caused confusion among the passengers waiting since the Prayagraj Express was already present at Platform 14.

“People who were reaching Platform 14 thought their train was arriving at Platform 16 and they rushed towards it, leading to the stampede.

Additionally, four trains were heading to Prayagraj, out of which three were delayed, causing unexpected overcrowding.

“There was confusion among the passengers regarding the train names and the change of platforms of the trains. Which ultimately led to the tragedy,” a witness told .

The Indian Railways will operate a special train for pilgrims to Prayagraj from platform number 16 at the New Delhi railway station. The Indian Railways announced the establishment of a committee consisting of two members to look into the incident. The committee includes Narsingh Deo, the Principal Chief Commercial Manager (PCCM) of Northern Railway, and Pankaj Gangwar, the Principal Chief Safety Commissioner (PCSC), the railways announced on Sunday.

The Railways announced that the committee has launched a High-Level Inquiry (HAG) regarding the incident. In the course of the investigation, the committee has mandated the collection of all video recordings from the Railway Station to assist in the inquiry.