But on Saturday night, a deadly crush – reportedly caused by overcrowding – killed at least 18 people and left several injured.

According to officials, two trains had been delayed at the station, while a third – heading to Prayagraj city where the massive Hindu religious festival, Kumbh Mela, is being held – was waiting to depart as people pushed against each other.

The crush occurred after “a passenger slipped and fell on the stairs”, a spokesperson for Indian Railways said.

Opposition leaders have criticised the government, alleging that Indian Railways did not make adequate arrangements to manage crowds at the station.

An investigation has been launched, and authorities have announced compensation for the victims.

When asked by the BBC about safety and security at the station, Pankaj Gangwar, Principal Chief Security Commissioner of Northern Railway, said “let the investigation be completed first”.

Crushes like these are not unheard of in India, where there is frequent overcrowding at religious events, festivals and public spaces. Last month, 30 people were killed and dozens injured in a crush at the Kumbh Mela.

Crowds at the railway station were also not unexpected – trains are by far the cheapest long-distance mode of transport in India and it is common for the number of passengers to far exceed the capacity of trains.

Eyewitnesses and the families of victims have been recounting their ordeal. Many of them were angry at authorities and police officials at the railway station, who they say did not act in time.

Some eyewitnesses said the crush was not limited to one place but took place on the overhead bridge, staircases and platforms.

Bipin Jha was at the station to meet his wife Mamta, who was arriving on a train. She died in the crush.

“I met her at the platform and we were walking on the footbridge overhead when she was trapped in the crush. She died in front of my eyes. I will live my life with the guilt of not saving her,” he says.

“We were on the stairs, suddenly we felt a push from behind. We fell, along with many others, and were trapped under bodies. I was barely breathing,” said Seema, whose sister-in law Pinky Devi died on the staircase.

Usha Devi, who was travelling to the eastern state of Bihar for her nephew’s wedding, said chaos erupted the moment she reached the platform.

“Many people fell. Everywhere, there were scattered belongings, food items and clothes. I was on the verge of fainting. So many people were collapsing. The crowd was so dense that we couldn’t board our train.”

Umesh Giri’s wife Shilam Devi was among the victims.

“The crowd became uncontrollable,” he told BBC Hindi while waiting outside the mortuary at Delhi’s Maulana Azad Medical College.

“I saw several bodies already lying there. People were colliding with each other, and others started falling over them,” said Mr Giri, who was also injured.

He added that help took time to arrive and that he pleaded with officers for help.

Most of the victims were taken to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital in New Delhi, where police and paramilitary forces were deployed, and railway authorities had set up a help desk to assist families. Journalists were not allowed to enter the hospital on Saturday.

Relatives of victims shared their grief with reporters waiting outside, while also expressing anger at the facilities in the hospital.

“Multiple people were crammed onto a single bed,” alleged Shobha, the sister-in-law of Shilam Devi.

Others coming out of the hospital also confirmed this. Hospital authorities did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

At Lady Hardinge Hospital, the grieving family of Riya, 7, completed the paperwork so they could receive her body.

“No child deserves to die like this”, her uncle Vivek said, wiping away tears.

Thousands of people reportedly crammed into the railway station on Saturday night as they tried to board delayed trains.

Four of the victims were children, while 10 were women, according to a list released by officials.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his thoughts were “with all those who have lost their loved ones” in a post on X.

Crowd crushes are common in India where there is frequent overcrowding at religious events, festivals and public spaces.

The incident comes weeks after 30 people were killed in a pre-dawn crush at the religious festival, Kumbh Mela, in northern India, where tens of millions of Hindus had gathered to bathe in sacred river waters on one of the holy days of the six-week event.

In Delhi, witnesses told BBC Hindi that a “huge crowd” had gathered at the station, through which many people were travelling to and from the Kumbh Mela, which is being held in Prayagraj city in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh state. Hundreds of people were also waiting for trains to other places.

According to officials, two trains had been delayed at the station, while a third – heading to Prayagraj – was waiting to depart.

Ruby Devi said the crowd at the Indian capital’s main railway station had been so big she was unable to get inside.

Umesh Giri, whose wife Shilam Devi died in the crush, said that the crowd was “uncontrollable” as he tried to board the Prayagraj Express.

Dharmendra Singh, who was also travelling to Prayagraj, told India’s PTI news agency that there were” far more people than I have ever seen at this station”.

“In front of me, six or seven women were taken away on stretchers.

KPS Malhotra, deputy commissioner of police (railways), said that authorities were investigating what led to the crush.

“This happened due to a delay in two trains arriving and more people gathering at the station,” he said.

Opposition leaders have criticised the government, accusing them of administrative failure.

“Considering the large number of devotees going to Prayagraj, better arrangements should have been made at the station,” Rahul Gandhi, the leader of opposition in India’s parliament, posted on X.

The rally, one of the largest in recent years, was called on Sunday by university students and farmer unions and took place in Belgrade’s Slavija Square.

It began with 15 minutes of silence as a tribute to as many people killed after the concrete canopy of the recently renovated roof of Novi Sad station caved in on November 1.

Fourteen people, aged between six and 74, were killed that day and a 15th victim died in hospital weeks later.Prosecutors have arrested 13 people over the incident, including a government minister whose release later led to public scepticism about the honesty of the investigation.

Opposition leaders and the public have taken to the streets repeatedly, blaming the accident on shoddy construction resulting from government corruption and nepotism. The ruling coalition denies those charges, and Vucic has said those responsible must be held to account.

The protesters on Sunday evening switched on the lights of their mobile phones and shouted “Vucic, thief!” Others held up banners reading “We are all under the canopy” and “You have blood on your hands”.

“We came here to say ‘Stop’ to everything that has been happening since 2012 [when Vucic’s party took power],” said Aleksa, 30, an IT expert from Novi Sad. “We want to see an end to corruption and nepotism.”

Many are demanding that Serbia’s leader as well as the mayor of Novi Sad resign, and that those found responsible be prosecuted. They are also calling for legal proceedings to be dropped against demonstrators, and for the prosecution of those who attacked the protesters.

Serbia’s popular theatre and movie actors joined the protest, with actor Bane Trifunovic describing Sunday’s rally as “a festival of freedom”

Smaller rallies were also held in the cities of Nis and Kragujevac.

In a bid to calm the protests, authorities over the past weeks have promised various subsidies for young people. Students – and other citizens supporting them – have continued to protest, saying their demands have only been partially met.

Despite the ongoing demonstrations, Vucic on Sunday inaugurated a section of a newly built highway in central Serbia.

Vucic said he would not budge to opposition demands for a transitional government and accused his opponents of using students to try to seize power.

“We will beat them again,” he said. “They [the opposition] don’t know what to do but to use someone’s children.”

The weeks-long protests have occurred amidst general discontent with Vucic’s rule. He had said he wants to take Serbia into the European Union but has faced accusations of curbing democratic freedoms rather than advancing them.