A series of crowd control measures have been taken at railway terminals across Mumbai following the stampede at Bandra-Kurla Terminus on Sunday morning. An investigation into the tragedy was also launched by the State Railways Police (GRP). Police are scanning CCTV footage to establish what exactly happened when the Antyodaya Express pulled up to platform 1 at 2.45am and passengers rushed to board the train to Gorakhpur.

Western Railways (WR) stated that there was a four-fold increase in the number of passengers heading home during Diwali and Chhath Puja celebrations, adding that these people rushed towards the train and tried to board the train even before it stopped. The doors were still locked, as is standard practice before the train stops, but passengers were still trying to get in, according to the railroad.

Crowd control measures initiated by the railway include restrictions on the sale of platform tickets at certain major stations in the Mumbai Region. WR Public Relations Officer Vineet Abhishek said that this will be valid till November 8.

Ticket control officers at the entrances of stations will be more careful to prevent the entry of passengers without tickets. The railway also opened additional ticket offices and increased the number of shifts of its staff.

Following the stampede at Surat station on November 11 last year, permanent waiting areas were set up at Udhna and Surat stations in the Mumbai Division of the railway, replacing the temporary structures used last year. Additionally, a new waiting area has been created near Platform 4 at Surat station.

Additionally, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) uses barricades and ropes to regulate crowding at stations serving long-distance trains.

Niraj Verma, Divisional Railway Manager (Mumbai) of Western Railway, said that they have sold 2,540 tickets for Antyodaya Express against 2,000-odd seats available. “This year, we are operating 66 festival special trains for Navratri, Diwali and Chhath Puja between October 9 and November 8. This includes 17 festive events exclusive to Gorakhpur. Last year we organized 29 special festivals, only one of them was in Gorakhpur. After looking at ticket sales, we decided to increase the number of trains to Gorakhpur,” said Verma.

Meanwhile, the State Railway Police (GRP), which is investigating into Sunday’s tragedy, is scanning CCTV footage to determine how and where the stampede started. They hope to piece together the sequence of events to determine whether there was any negligence on the part of the railways.

GRP records the statements of police officers and passengers who were on the platform when the incident occurred. On Sunday morning, 11 GRP officers and five Home Guard officers were on duty at Bandra Terminus.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (GRP) Manoj Patil put the burden on the pile-up of passengers, which caused the crowd to get out of control. He said that Antyodaya Express receives a lot of passengers because it takes passengers without reservations. All they have to do to get on the train is buy a ticket.

He also said that Antyodaya Express leaves the terminal every Sunday after another train for Gorakhpur left a few hours ago. However, this Sunday the previous train was delayed by 16 hours. Since reservations are not required for these trains, passengers of the previous train may have rushed to board the Antyodaya Express, leading to overcrowding on platform 1.

Patil also claimed that the Antyodaya Express, which entered the station three hours before departure, arrived just an hour before departure on Sunday, leading to crowding. “There is usually enough time for passengers to board the train and get settled. Hundreds of people had gathered on the platform on Sunday as the train was delayed,” Patil said.

However, Western Railways maintains that the Antyodaya Express arrived at the shipyard at 2.45am, more than two hours before departure, giving passengers enough time to board and settle down.

Patil added that the passengers jumped towards the train as it slowed down as it approached the platform. “They opened the doors and started jumping in; “Some men even caused chaos by trying to get in through the emergency windows,” he said. However, Western Railway maintains that the doors are locked and unlocked only after the train has stopped.

Patil said GRP has filed an incident report. “We will increase security measures in other terminals as well, anticipating an increase in the number of passengers on other special trains during the Diwali holiday.”