New Delhi [India], February 24 (ANI): Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday said that only passengers with reserved tickets would directly go inside the New Delhi railway station, further stating that those without tickets would first go to the holding area in order to manage the crowd at the railway station.

Speaking to ANI, Vaishnaw said that special trains had been arranged for the passengers considering the number of people travelling.

'Several steps have been taken for crowd control at the New Delhi Railway station. If passengers have reserved tickets, they can go directly inside the station. Those who do not have tickets will first go to the holding area and get the tickets... passengers can only go inside when the train is about to come... special trains have also been arranged for the passengers....' Vaishnaw said.

On February 23, the Northern Railway took special measures to manage the surge of passengers heading to Prayagraj for the Mahakumbh, ensuring smooth travel arrangements at Delhi railway station, officials said.

Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, Northern Railway's Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), said an innovative method was used to monitor ticket sales live.

'In Delhi railway station, ticket sales were monitored through a new innovative method. Hourly monitoring was done and hourly trains to Prayagraj were arranged. We started 5 trains on demand. It helped in managing the crowd coming for the Mahakumbh...,' CPRO Upadhyay told ANI.

He added, 'Our Railway Minister (Ashwini Vaishnaw) was present in the Railway Board's room. GM Northern Railway and DRM Delhi were deployed at the station. They were also live monitoring the situation.'

Similarly, Senior DCM of Prayagraj division Himanshu Shukla assured that they have made smooth arrangements for the pilgrimage.

'The Mahashivratri Snan is our last test for which we are fully prepared... A huge crowd from here (Prayagraj) goes to other pilgrimage places like Ayodhya and Varanasi for darshan and we have made a smooth arrangement for them... We have installed 1450 CCTV cameras from Triveni Sangam to Prayagraj Junction... Yesterday, on 22nd February, about 1 crore 60 lakh people took holy dip,' he told ANI.

Devotees continue to arrive in large numbers at Prayagraj's Mahakumbh to take a holy dip. The last major bath will be on Maha Shivratri, scheduled for February 26. (ANI)