Improving the state of New Delhi Railway Station

Dear all:

Below are the Issues, Root Causes and Solutions for New Delhi Station. Kindly review them and if you have any additional inputs, please add them as a comment while identifying (Issue, Root Cause, Solution with a prefix)

We will soon compile this for sharing with Railway Minister, Railway Board and General Manager responsible for the station.

Thanks for your participation!
Ministry of Railways

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Solutions for improvement of New Delhi Railway Station

1. Entry to the station should be restricted to ticket holders only and only passengers requiring assistance should be allowed to bring someone (post a platform ticket)
2. CCTV cameras should monitor all platforms, entry and exit of the stations
3. Multiple counters for security check should be put in place
4. Genuine passengers should be asked to come early for boarding the train after security check
5. Passengers should be permitted to enter the platforms only an hour before the departure of the train
6. Railways must look at expanding the area available at the station so that facilities such as waiting room / toilets / dormitories / restaurants can be constructed to accommodate the passengers rush
7. Traffic police should man the signal at the station 24x7, to ease the traffic congestion
8. Coolies not obeying the rate-chart should be reported to the union and suspended
9. Auto rickshaws/taxis should be asked to move out immediately after dropping the passengers and not keep waiting
10. Random checks should be carried by GRP to ensure non travellers, vendors, unauthorized porters aren’t using the platform to stay or solicit business
11. The waiting room at the New Delhi railway station should be renovated
12. Ticket vending machines should be installed at the stations to ease the crowd on the ticket windows
13. More passengers should be diverted towards the Ajmeri Gate side as that entrance is bigger and has more space to cars as well
14. The contract of the parking vendors who are over charging, should be suspended
15. Better quality eateries should be allowed to open shops at the station
16. Maintenance of the station and toilet cleanliness should be outsourced to a private vendor
17. Escalators should be installed at different places, keeping in mind the women and the elderly
18. Wheelchairs should be made available to assist the handicap
19. All the trains coming to Delhi should be divided equally among the 4 major stations – New Delhi, Old Delhi, Nizamuddin and Anand Vihar

Root Causes for Issues at New Delhi Railway Station

1. The number of people that visit the New Delhi railway station are way more than it can actually handle
2. Paharganj has always been a congested area
3. Paharganj is close to Sadar Bazar which is a famous wholesale market and hence the traffic congestion
4. Cars and autos park in the wrong lane at the station
5. Coolies don’t have a standard rate chart or there are no checks on adherence to it
6. Prepaid auto booth doesn’t have control over the auto drivers
7. Auto drivers just want to make good money from the tourists who turn up and don’t know about the fares
8. Waiting rooms have not been renovated for years
9. Number of tickets windows are less as compared to the number of people queuing up
10. Parking contractors team up with the local police to charge more than the printed rate for parking
11. The General Railway Police is lazy and ignore the happenings around them
12. There is little check on vendors on the station selling sub-standard food or selling without license
13. Toilets do not have regular water supply and hence stay dirty
14. Lack of pragmatic thinking on part of local platform management

Issues at New Delhi Railway Station

1. Approach to station from Paharganj side is totally flawed
2. There is heavy traffic congestion outside the railway station
3. No one ready to take responsibility to correct the traffic flow outside the station
4. No provision for safe movement of people who get down to board trains or come to board their car, along with luggage
5. The coolies charge exorbitantly during rush hours
6. The auto-rickshaws parked outside the main gate leave little space for passengers to move to the station
7. Prepaid auto rickshaw system is very poor
8. Auto rickshaws refuse to take passengers even after the passenger has a prepaid slip
9. The waiting rooms on the platform are uncomfortable and unhygienic
10. Ticket queues are very long
11. Escalators don’t work and no lifts are there on the new Delhi railway stations
12. Lack of facilities like wheel chair for the old and disabled
13. There is not enough space for parking at the station
14. Parking contractors outside the station overcharge
15. Many pick-pockets operate on the Delhi station
16. Availability of hygienic food is a problem on Delhi railway station
17. No proper taxi stand. Finding a taxi at New Delhi railway station becomes a nightmare
18. The food vendors overcharge for food and sell at a higher price than the MRP
19. Toilets are in a pathetic state
20. The waiting rooms and small and dirty more