Central Railway has prepared a crowd-management and security plan for Mumbai stations during the upcoming Ganeshotsav, including the deployment of 219 additional Railway Protection Force personnel and more than 200 commercial and operating staff at high-footfall locations.
The arrangements will focus on stations used by visitors travelling to major Ganeshotsav venues in south and central Mumbai, including Lalbaug, Ganesh Galli and Chintamani. Chinchpokli, Curry Road and Dadar are expected to see significant passenger movement, as devotees use these stations to reach the surrounding pandals.
According to the plan reported by Navbharat Times – Mumbai, additional ticket-checking personnel will be deployed around the clock at key stations to help regulate passenger movement and support travellers. Dadar, which handles terminating suburban services, along with Curry Road and Chinchpokli, will receive special attention because of their proximity to major festival destinations.
The additional security deployment will cover Bhaykhala, Dadar, Panvel, Thane, Chinchpokli and Curry Road, among other important stations. The 219 RPF personnel will be deployed in addition to the regular security force during the festival period.
Railway staff will use speakers, ropes and crowd-control barricades at busy points to guide passengers and prevent movement from becoming unorganised. Wireless communication systems will also be used to improve coordination between personnel stationed at different locations.
More than 200 employees from the commercial and operating departments will assist passengers. The deployment includes 150 commercial staff and 50 operating staff. Their responsibilities will include helping passengers obtain tickets, managing queues and providing information about digital ticketing options.
Teams promoting the UTS mobile application will also be present at stations. The app allows passengers to access certain suburban ticketing services digitally, potentially reducing pressure on ticket counters during periods of heavy demand.
The additional monitoring will extend beyond suburban stations. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Dadar, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Thane and Panvel will have commercial department ticket-checking staff on continuous duty. Railway officers will also be assigned to monitor crowd levels and passenger movement at these locations.
The plan reflects the operational challenge created when large religious gatherings overlap with Mumbai’s daily suburban travel demand. Stations near major pandals must handle arriving visitors, regular commuters, departing passengers and people changing routes within constrained platforms, entry areas and foot-over bridges.
Central Railway’s reported arrangements will remain focused on crowd regulation, passenger assistance, ticket checking and security surveillance during Ganeshotsav. The railway administration has not indicated in the supplied report whether additional train services or changes to regular timetables will be introduced.
