Following a stampede that claimed the lives of 18 people on February 15, Indian Railways has announced a special train for devotees traveling to Prayagraj. The train will depart from platform number 16 at New Delhi Railway Station, officials confirmed on Sunday.
DCP Railway KPS Malhotra told ANI, “…As of now, Prayagraj Special will run from platform number 16, and then Vande Bharat will run. Let railways manage that show, we will do our work. We have sufficient deployment here.”
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="168px" width="299px" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="1080px" width="1920px" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
He further stated, “The situation at platform 16 is normal and under control…”
The tragic incident occurred when a passenger lost balance and slipped on the stairs leading to platforms 14 and 15, injuring several others, Northern Railways CPRO told ANI.
To accommodate the surge of devotees for Mahakumbh 2025, Central Railway officials had earlier announced four special trains. Additionally, extra ticket booking counters and ‘May I Help You’ booths have been set up.
Meanwhile, Indian Railways has formed a two-member committee to investigate the incident. The committee consists of Narsingh Deo, Northern Railway’s Principal Chief Commercial Manager (PCCM), and Pankaj Gangwar, the Principal Chief Safety Commissioner (PCSC), officials said on Sunday.
The Railways confirmed that a High-Level Inquiry (HAG) has been initiated into the incident. The committee has also directed the preservation of all video footage from the station to aid in the investigation.
The stampede occurred at 10 p.m. on Saturday amid heavy overcrowding as lakhs of devotees traveled to Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh 2025 festival.
The victims of the incident have been identified as Aaha Devi, 79, Pinky Devi, 41, Sheela Devi, 50, Vyom, 25, Poonam Devi, 40, Lalita Devi, 35, Suruchi, 11, Krishna Devi, 40, Vijay Sah, 15, Neeraj, 12, Shanti Devi, 40, Pooja Kumar, 8, Sangeeta Malik and Poonam, both 34, Mamta Jha, 40, Riya Singh, 7, Baby Kumari, 24, and Manoj, 47.
In response to the tragedy, Indian Railways has announced financial compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of the deceased. Additionally, Rs 2.5 lakh will be given to those seriously injured, while individuals with minor injuries will receive Rs 1 lakh in compensation.
