Holi-day rush: Railways go airport mode in Bengaluru to ensure smooth boarding

Bengaluru: As thousands of passengers flocked to Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal (SMVT) to head home for Holi holidays, many braced for the usual festival mayhem—overflowing platforms, last-minute sprints, and frantic searches for coach positions. But this time, they were in for a surprise: an airport-style boarding system, a rare sight at railway stations.

At SMVT in Byappanahalli, the familiar pre-festival rush gave way to orderly queues and regulated entry. In a first-of-its-kind crowd-control measure for Holi, the South Western Railway (SWR), in coordination with the Railway Protection Force (RPF), introduced a structured boarding model inspired by airports.


Under the new system, passengers were not allowed unrestricted access to platforms. Entry was permitted only when the train arrived and was ready for boarding. Women, children and senior citizens were given priority access, ensuring a safer and smoother embarkation process.

Railway authorities said the move was aimed at preventing the dangerous overcrowding often witnessed during peak holiday departures. "Unlike previous times, additional RPF personnel have been brought in from Hubballi and Mysuru divisions. We're ensuring that queues are strictly maintained, from the ticket counters right up to the train doors," a senior RPF officer from Bengaluru division said.

Behind the scenes, a divisional ‘war room' kept a close watch on live CCTV feeds to track crowd build-up in real time. Senior officers were deployed in three shifts to ensure rapid coordination and immediate response to any emerging situation.

Recognising that waiting areas often fall short during festival peaks, the railways also created temporary holding zones at SMVT, KSR Bengaluru City, Krishnarajapuram and Yeshwantpur stations. These additional spaces can accommodate around 300 passengers, supplementing the permanent waiting halls and preventing crowd spillovers onto platforms.

"It helps in managing the situation properly. A similar thing was tried during the Chhath Puja time but the crowd was too much. It really worked well for the Amrit Bharat Express which has more unreserved coaches," said Sumanth Atreyas, a passenger at SMVT station.

Between Feb 27 and March 3, seven major railway stations in the city — KSR Bengaluru, Bengaluru Cantonment, Yeshwantpur, SMVT Bengaluru, Krishnarajapuram, Whitefield, and Kengeri — together handled approximately 20 lakh passengers, according to SWR.

SWR will operate a total of 56 Holi special trains comprising 856 trips across various railway zones throughout the month. In addition, special trains comprising 134 trips are being operated in coordination with other railway zones. The trains will connect several important destinations across the country, including Madar, Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Dhanbad Junction, Yog Nagari Rishikesh, Malda, Delhi, Muzaffarpur, Danapur, and Jodhpur, among other important destinations.

Short-distance specials to ease rush on express trains

With high footfalls expected especially for long distance trains, SWR will run 28 short-distance trains as well. These special services are expected to ease congestion on regular trains covering major station pairs such as Hubballi–Vijayapura, Yeshwantpur Junction–Hindupur, KSR Bengaluru City Junction–Ashokapuram, Bangarapet Junction–SMVT Bengaluru, Bengaluru Cantonment–Chikkaballapur, KSR Bengaluru City Junction–Hassan, Yeshwantpur Junction–Hosur, Hospete–SSS Hubballi Junction, and Ballari–Davanagere.

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