Overview
- Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw approved the nationwide expansion of permanent passenger holding areas after the New Delhi trial.
- The Ministry released a zonal list covering major stations, including Mumbai CSMT, Howrah, Patna, Chennai Central and SMVT Bengaluru, with Northern Railway allotted 12 sites, Western 8 and Central 6.
- Construction is targeted for completion before the 2026 festive period to better manage predictable surges in passenger volumes.
- The New Delhi facility was completed within four months and was credited by the Ministry with helping the station handle heavy festival traffic smoothly.
- Planned amenities include modular layouts with seating, toilets, help desks, ticket-scan counters, medical booths, enquiry counters, drinking water, real-time train displays and separated ticketed and non-ticketed zones for crowd control.