Mahakumbh 2025 / Crowds in Prayagraj worsened traffic system, railway station was closed, see advisory

Mahakumbh 2025: A huge crowd of devotees is gathering in the ongoing Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, due to which the whole city is facing the problem of jam. The situation has become more serious since Sunday, where people have to be stuck in traffic for several hours to travel a distance of 20 minutes. Due to severe traffic disruption on all the routes of the fair area, the administration has had to implement special arrangements for traffic control.

The city's traffic system collapsed due to heavy crowd

According to the fair administration, more than 43.57 crore devotees have taken bath in Sangam from January 13 to February 9. Prayagraj Sangam railway station was temporarily closed due to the excessive number of pilgrims.

Traffic ADCP Kuldeep Singh gave information

Traffic ADCP Kuldeep Singh said that due to the excessive number of vehicles and the haste of the devotees, long jams are occurring. He said that like Mauni Amavasya, special arrangements have to be implemented to control the crowd. The entire vehicle parking capacity in local and remote parking lots has been filled, increasing the pressure on traffic.

The arrival of excessive devotees has increased the challenge of the administration

The capacity of IERT and Baghada parking is only 4,000 to 5,000 vehicles, while 20,000 to 25,000 vehicles can be parked in the remote parking of Nehru Park and Bela Kachhar. According to Singh, there was not so much crowd on normal days in the last Kumbh (2019), but this time there is a huge crowd even on normal days. There is no possibility of the crowd reducing in the coming days.

Prayag Sangam railway station temporarily closed

Northern Railway Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Kuldeep Tiwari said that due to excessive crowd outside Sangam station, it has been temporarily closed keeping in mind the safety of the passengers. Passengers will now have to catch the train from Prayagraj Junction. The station will be reopened after the crowd is controlled.

Railway's special arrangement for Mahakumbh

The North Central Railway has implemented a single-directional movement system at Prayagraj Junction station to control the crowd during Mahakumbh 2025.

For the safety and convenience of passengers, entry will be given only from the city side (platform number 1) and exit will be from the Civil Lines side.

Separate passenger shelters have been set up for passengers with unreserved tickets.

Unreserved ticket counters, ATVMs and mobile ticketing facilities have been provided in the passenger shelters for ticket sales.

Passengers with reserved tickets will be given entry from Gate No. 5 and will be allowed to go to the platform only half an hour before the arrival of the train.

The number of devotees is continuously increasing in Mahakumbh 2025, due to which the administration and railways are facing huge challenges in traffic control and security management. Officials have appealed to the devotees to follow the instructions given by the administration so that the journey remains smooth and safe.