Railway security chiefs meet to plan Diwali, Chhath crowd safety measures
Synopsis
With Diwali and Chhath Puja weeks away, India's top railway security chiefs have met to finalise crowd management plans, drone-led surveillance models, and a new GRP-RailMadad integration — signalling a more coordinated, tech-assisted approach to keeping millions of festive travellers safe on the world's largest passenger rail network.
Key Takeaways
The 8th All India Conference of GRP Chiefs was held in New Delhi on 24 October 2026 , convened by the RPF .
Director General of RPF Sonali Mishra and Railway Board Chairman Satish Kumar presided over the conference.
GRP personnel have been onboarded onto the RailMadad platform to improve passenger grievance redressal and complaint monitoring.
South Central Railway's 'Pink Patrol' integrates drone surveillance with rapid-response teams under the SHAKTI framework .
Stone-pelting on trains was flagged as a persistent challenge; hotspot-based patrolling and youth outreach were proposed as key responses.
Project DISHA by Central Railway's Pune Division engages children near tracks through safety awareness and community programmes.
Security officials from the Government Railway Police (GRP), Railway Protection Force (RPF), and state police forces convened in New Delhi on 24 October 2026 to deliberate on crowd management strategies for the upcoming Diwali and Chhath festivals, aiming to ensure safe and orderly passenger movement during one of India's busiest travel windows. The discussions took place at the 8th All India Conference of GRP Chiefs, which addressed emerging security challenges and coordination frameworks across the railway network.
Key Deliberations at the Conference
The conference, presided over by Director General of RPF Sonali Mishra, was also attended by Chairman and CEO of the Railway Board Satish Kumar, Railway Board members, and GRP chiefs from across states and Union Territories. Deliberations covered advance planning for peak festive periods, efficient passenger-flow management, and the coordinated deployment of security personnel.
Northern Railway's Delhi Division presented its model of coordinated efforts involving Delhi Police, GRP, and Delhi Metro authorities, backed by CCTV surveillance, public announcements, barricading, designated holding areas, and dedicated control rooms. 'Emphasis was laid on advance planning, efficient passenger-flow management and coordinated deployment of security personnel to ensure safe and orderly passenger movement during peak periods,' the Railways Ministry said in an official statement.
GRP Personnel Onboarded onto RailMadad Platform
A significant development at the conference was the onboarding of GRP personnel onto the RailMadad platform, facilitated by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS). The move is aimed at improving passenger grievance redressal, enabling timely information sharing, and streamlining complaint monitoring across the network.
Women-Led Surveillance and Stone-Pelting Challenges
South Central Railway's 'Pink Patrol: Eyes in the Sky, SHAKTI on the Ground' initiative was highlighted as a model worth emulating — integrating drone-assisted surveillance with rapid-response teams under the SHAKTI framework, led entirely by women personnel. This comes amid a persistent challenge flagged at the conference: stone-pelting on trains. Officials stressed hotspot-based patrolling, enhanced surveillance, strict action against offenders, youth outreach, and stronger RPF-GRP coordination as the key response measures. Community awareness and preventive engagement were recognised as important deterrents.
Project DISHA Targets Children Near Railway Tracks
Central Railway's Pune Division presented Project DISHA (Dedicated Initiative for Safety, Harmony and Awareness), which engages children living near railway tracks through educational and recreational activities, safety awareness sessions, and community-based interventions. The project collaborates with NGOs, National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteers, and local communities to discourage stone-pelting, theft, trespassing, and other unsafe practices near railway infrastructure.
What Comes Next
With Diwali and Chhath Puja approaching, passenger volumes on the Indian Railways network are expected to surge significantly. The frameworks and coordination protocols discussed at the conference are set to be operationalised across railway divisions in the coming days, with designated control rooms and security deployments going live ahead of the peak travel period.
Point of View
Multi-agency security model. The RailMadad onboarding of GRP is overdue: fragmented grievance systems have long been a weak link in passenger safety response. More telling is the prominence given to stone-pelting, a problem that has persisted for years with limited deterrence. Community-facing programmes like Project DISHA and youth outreach are the right instinct, but their scale against the sheer expanse of the network remains unclear. The real test will be whether these frameworks hold up under the genuine stress of Chhath — when north Indian stations see some of the densest human crowds on earth.
NationPress
24 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What was decided at the 8th All India Conference of GRP Chiefs?
Officials from the RPF, GRP, and state police forces deliberated on crowd management for Diwali and Chhath, sharing best practices on surveillance, passenger-flow management, and inter-agency coordination. GRP personnel were also onboarded onto the RailMadad platform to improve grievance redressal.
Who presided over the GRP Chiefs conference in New Delhi?
The conference was presided over by Director General of RPF Sonali Mishra and attended by Railway Board Chairman and CEO Satish Kumar, along with Railway Board members and GRP chiefs from states and Union Territories.
What is the RailMadad platform and why is GRP being added to it?
RailMadad is the Indian Railways passenger grievance and complaint monitoring platform managed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS). Adding GRP personnel to the platform is aimed at faster complaint resolution, better information sharing, and improved coordination during incidents.
What is South Central Railway's Pink Patrol initiative?
Pink Patrol is a women-led security model deployed by South Central Railway that integrates drone-assisted aerial surveillance with rapid-response ground teams under the SHAKTI framework. It was showcased at the conference as a replicable model for other railway zones.
What is Project DISHA and which railway division runs it?
Project DISHA — Dedicated Initiative for Safety, Harmony and Awareness — is run by Central Railway's Pune Division and focuses on engaging children living near railway tracks through safety awareness, educational activities, and community outreach to deter stone-pelting, trespassing, and theft.
