Surat: Panic and disorder gripped Udhna railway station on Sunday morning after a surge of passengers broke queues and attempted to rush into the premises to board long-distance trains, leaving several women and children distressed.The incident occurred around 11am as passengers gathered to board the Udhna–Hasanpur (Bihar) train, scheduled to depart at 11.15am. Eyewitnesses said some individuals bypassed the designated queue system and climbed over barricades, triggering chaos at the entry point.Women and children were among the worst affected, struggling to navigate the sudden rush. Some passengers reportedly experienced suffocation due to overcrowding, while others showed signs of dehydration amid rising temperatures. The tense situation also left several children in tears.Railway authorities, along with the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Government Railway Police (GRP), quickly intervened. Police resorted to a mild lathicharge to disperse those attempting to breach barricades and restore order.Western Railway chief public relations officer (PRO) Vineet Abhishek said the crowd pressure was unusually high due to the ongoing marriage season and summer vacations. “We had announced trains in advance and implemented queue management with multiple holding areas. Around 23,000 passengers had gathered, and six trains were scheduled for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The disruption occurred when some unruly passengers tried to break the system, but the situation was brought under control swiftly,” he said.Railway officials confirmed that six special trains were operated from Udhna through the morning, including services to Jayanagar, Madhubani, and Hasanpur, to manage the heavy rush.Another official, Anubhav Saxena, said that nearly 21,000 passengers were cleared by 11.25am. Around 700 passengers who were unable to board the Hasanpur train were later accommodated after additional halts were arranged for Bandra–Gorakhpur and Valsad–Mau special trains at Udhna station.Authorities also scheduled two more special trains for Jayanagar later in the night to handle the continued influx of passengers.
