Railway minister approves plan for developing passenger holding areas
The Statesman | 1 November 2025
Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw today approved the plan for developing passenger holding areas at 76 railway stations including Howrah, Sealdah, Shalimar and Asansol.
According to a Press communiqué, the holding areas are to be constructed considering the local conditions in a modular design. This decision comes taking a cue from the passenger holding area at New Delhi station that was completed within four months, according to the railways. The railway minister is also said to have directed that all the holding areas should be constructed well before the 2026 festival season.
While a detailed confirmation is yet to come, sources in the railways said that the holding areas that were so far a temporary facility are now likely to become a permanent structure.
Notably, to regulate heavy rush while boarding or after de-boarding, temporary holding areas were developed at 76 major stations this year on the instructions of the railway ministry. The Howrah Division of the Eastern Railway set up two large holding areas at Howrah station to regulate passenger flow during peak hours. The divisional railway developed two large holding areas measuring 7,360 sq ft and 4,900 sq ft at Howrah station to handle the rush flow during the festive season.
The Sealdah station too used a part of the parking area for holding the waiting passengers. For this, an area of around 300 metres was used as a holding area without affecting the normal parking. Facilities like seating arrangements and toilets for the waiting passengers were made available at the holding area. Likewise, the South Eastern Railway also set up holding areas at Shalimar. The zonal railway is also said to have identified Ranchi, Tata and Shalimar stations for permanent holding areas for next year and beyond.